Hearts of Light 1: Twisting Web Online
by Osra
Summary: A year after the events of Sword Art Online, a new VRMMO is released to the public, but with a deadly secret. Follow a new set of SAO survivors through drama, romance, horror, and action. Meet Osra, Heruseus, Mel, Chumbus, Lizardon, Executioner, Pyrus, Purple Gleam, Technis II and Charles, A.K.A. The Hearts of Light. Read through the journey of this hope filled guild.
1. Chapter 1: Link Start

**Chapter 1: Link Start!**

Josh opened his eyes slowly. He squinted towards the bright lights above him, and rose steadily. He looked around the small hospital room, and took off the Nerve Gear. Long, black, hair bursted out of the helmet. He saw Theo sitting in the corner, reading a book. Theo glanced up, then back down. He quickly glanced up again, and dropped his book.

"Morning Josh," Theo stood up, revealing his pale skin. His blond hair was cut short, and he looked replenished.

"H-Heruseus?" Josh tried to stand, but nearly stumbled to the ground. Theo caught him before he could fall.

"Whoa there buddy, slow down! You just woke up, you shouldn't stand yet! And yes, it's me, but this is the real world, have you forgotten my real name? We've known each other since grade school. It shouldn't be that hard," Theo helped him sit back on the bed. His brown and green eyes sparkled in the bright lights. "You've been asleep for two months after Kirito beat Heathcliff. Lucky for me, I woke up earlier than everyone," He told him.

"Heathcliff? He was bad? I knew something was up," Osra scratched his head. "Wait, Mel! Where's Melody?!" Osra tried to shout, but his vocal cords didn't allow it. He coughed, and got up. He held onto the saline bag pole, and tried to get to the door.

"She's still sleeping, calm down. She's okay," Theo grabbed him, and put him back in the bed. "We'll see her in a little bit, but Justin's on his way, he already woke up," He sat next to him.

"What about Beth?"

"She's in Mel's room, watching carefully over her."

"Max?"

"In a coma, he barely made it back. We're actually lucky he's in a coma."

"Westin?"

"He's awake, but that last hit nearly killed him, we're glad Kirito ended it before his health went zero. He'll be fine."

"I'm here!" A short, Asian boy busted through the door, his black hair trimmed like a bowl. His skin was more pale than ever, but he could walk on his own. "Yo Jersh! How are you feeling?" He plopped down onto a chair.

"I'll be alright, thanks for asking Justin," Josh said with happiness. "It's nice to see you guys again, like, actually see you guys," Josh smiled.

"You should call your parents, they'll freak once they know you're alive," Justin took out his phone. "Here," he handed the phone to him.

"Alright," Josh dialed in his house phone number, and surprisingly, it worked. His mother answered, and was delighted to finally hear his voice again. She cried over the phone, and told his whole family her son was alive. After moments of crying and blabbering, it turned into lectures about buying such a video game, but then it turned back into tears. They eventually hung up, and Josh gave Justin his phone back.

"Well, how do you feel?" Justin asked. "About hearing your family again?" He shoved the phone into his pocket.

"I don't really feel anything," Josh said with a blank face.

"Oh well, people have different ways of reacting. Justin was bawling when he heard his mom's voice. Then he stopped crying after we bought some *mochi," Heruseus laughed. Justin glared and punched him in the arm.

Josh laughed, but then quietly muttered, "Damn, we survived."

"Yeah, I know. It seemed impossible, but we did it! We lived 'till the end!" Justin smiled.

"Anthony still died," A tall, Asian girl with dirty-blond hair walked in. Her gray eyes were stained with sadness as they stared at Justin.

"Beth. It's okay now, we still got his killer afterwards. Don't worry about him now, he's resting above now. He's probably smiling right now, and he'd probably like to see you smiling too," Theo put his hand on her shoulder.

"You know, it's kind of funny for me to think we would get out of this alive. And it turns out I was right, we didn't. I wanted to wake up with him, but he will never be beside me anymore, and it really hurts. I know he died half a year ago, but that doesn't say anything! Nothing changes the fact that he's gone, and gone without me. What am I supposed to do now Theo?! What am I supposed to do?" She clasped both hands over her face and began to cry.

"You're supposed to keep moving through life. Technis II wouldn't have wanted you to die, and that's why he jumped in front of you. He wanted you to carry on, and to keep on going. That's what you're supposed to do," Theo said, looking her straight in the eyes.

"Don't leave out Gracie, she would've lived if I wasn't too careless! Why did you save me Josh?! Why me?!" A short boy with short, brown hair emerged from the door. His eyes weren't just saddened, but smothered with loss and anger. He glared straight at Josh, who was already standing. He began to walk towards Josh.

"Austin calm down! He did what he can! He wanted to save both of you! You would've died Austin! Austin stop, right now," Justin grabbed him by the shoulder.

"Don't try to stop me Justin. Don't get in the way," Austin shoved him aside.

"Whoa, whoa hey! What do you think you're doing?" Theo stopped him.

"Damn, that hurt," Justin got up and rubbed his back.

"I wanted to save both of you!" Josh said as loud as he could. "There wasn't enough time! Do you think I wanted Grace to die?! No! I never wanted anyone to die! I understand your pain of loss," Josh was briefly interrupted.

"No you don't! You still have Melody! Melody didn't die! She would've if I didn't save," He was also interrupted.

"Shut it Austin!" A skinny, tall, Asian girl with blond hair dragged her feet through the door. Her brown eyes were very pale, and she looked like she was about to fall over. "You didn't lose two of your best friends right? Because last time I remember, Gerry and Ryel fell to Shinigami. You need to also remember that he SAVED your life! Move on Austin! And don't blame other people for your actions either! It's your fault for running away from the group like that!" She barely managed to get out.

"Sorry, Mel. It's just, it's been hard without her," Austin said, putting his head down.

"Look, I understand, and it's not your fault. I almost lost my sister, but I still lost great friends. We wouldn't have made it out without them. I'm sorry for yelling," Mel apologized.

*Mochi is an ice cream filled gelatin snack from Japan

"Melody!" Josh said in delight! He walked over and hug her really tight. "I thought you were asleep!" He asked after letting go.

"I woke up not while ago, Beth asked if I wanted to see you, because you just woke up too, and here we are," Mel smiled.

"Alright guys, that party has finally begun!" A short kid with a blond buzz cut walked through the door, arms extended.

"Yo Westin!" Theo walked up to him and gave him a high-five. "A little late to the "party" but glad you're here," Theo smiled.

"No way is that Evan?" Josh looked at the door to see a Mexican boy standing in the doorway, smiling. He had thick eyelashes, and short brown hair. He didn't look pale at all, and he looked as happy can be.

"Never mind, NOW the party has began," Westin gave arms to Evan.

"In the flesh!" Evan smiled brighter. Everyone besides Beth hugged him at once. "It's so great to see you all! Man, I was almost convinced you guys were gone, but here I am, standing with you guys," He dug something out of his pocket. "Okay, look, there's a new thing called the Gawk Machine, something like the Nerve Gear, but can't kill you. There's also a new game coming out with it, the name is Twisting Web Online. We should all play it! Don't worry, the same thing can't possibly happen twice!" Evan showed everyone the flier. Everyone agreed to play, and all took in part-time jobs to make up the money. Twisting Web Online was only four-months away, and wasn't even expensive. The game never gained hype, therefore, it was only about 100$ with the Gawk Machine.

The Hearts of Light had finally raised enough money to buy the Gawk Machine that Evan had been stammering about. As they logged on, Evan had already been logged in along with their friend Luke Solano. Luke was a scrawny Mexican kid with spiky black hair, and he wasn't too short but not too tall. He is always so cheerful and has a smile that brightened up everyone's day. Josh, now Osra once again, opened his eyes in the first rest point to see a large group of people getting in groups.

He looked across him to see Justin already. He stood there, looking how he did in real life, so Osra took out a mirror to see how he looked. He stared into the brown eyes of himself, and the longish hair he forgot to trim. He put away the mirror and shouted, "Yo Chumbus! Over here!" Osra tried to shout over the millions of voices talking over him. "Chumbus! Chumbus, HEY!" he shouted more. He finally heard him as Osra slowly moved towards him.

"Ehh?" Justin turned around and saw the tall player running towards him. "Oh, hey Jersh," he said with a smile, "Have you seen anyone else yet?"

"No, I just got here," Josh replied. "Plus, I'm not Jersh; I'm Osra, OZ-RA! Remember?" Osra glared at him with his brown eyes.

"Fine, then call me Chumbus!" He replied a little more agitated.

"I do call you-" he stopped mid-sentence because he already knew what he was getting into. "Ugh, let's go look for everyone," Osra said as he was tackled by a short, scrawny, blond boy with glasses. His hair was very messy, as if a bird made its home there.

"Oww," the kid groaned. He rubbed his head and moaned, "My head hurts."

"You okay?" Osra asked. He helped the player up and giggled, "You kind of rammed my armor."

"Yeah, I'm fine," He looked up at Osra. "Josh?!"

"Theo?" Chumbus and Osra spoke at the same time. His brown eyes were filled with color.

"Theo, don't go running off we need to find-" A familiar voice shouted and paused. She had a pouted look on but as soon as she saw Chumbus and Osra, her eyes widened. "Josh and Justin," she finished.

"Mel!" Chumbus and Osra spoke again at the same time.

"See! I told you I could find them!" Theo told Melody.

"You ran straight into my chest plate and had no idea it was me," Osra said with grief.

"Hey at least I found you two," Theo said. "My user-name says Heruseus!" He said with sass. "Where's Evan and Luke?" he looked around.

Shortly, a kid with bluish greenish hair did the same thing. A girl with flaming orange hair followed him, "Psytrin say sorry!"

"Sorry," The blue-haired kid muttered and ran off. The girl went back to chasing him, but stood in front of Chumbus for a second. She smiled and waved, and continued running.

"Okay," Mel muttered. She looked at Chumbus who was still smiling.

"They said to meet here," Osra told him. "Why does your user-name just say Mel, Melody?" he asked her

"I was just lazy to come with a smart user-name," she said shyly. "Beth hurry up! We found Josh and Justin already!" She shouted behind her.

"Yo guys!" Beth caught up to her. "The name's Technis II, I'll carry out Anthony's legacy," She rubbed her arm. She cut her hair short, but leaving her bangs and sides long.

"Understandable," Chumbus nodded.

"Where's Austin?" Osra asked.

"I dunno. We thought he'd be with you guys," Heruseus scratched his head.

"I'm right here!" Austin said, on the ground.

"Why are you on the floor?" Heruseus asked.

"I just got here, and I guess I spawned like this," Austin said, still on the ground.

"Well aren't you going to get up?" Technis II asked.

"Oh yeah," He stood up. "By the way, I'm Charles again," he pointed to his user-name.

"Why do you always pick Charles?" Mel asked.

"Because Charles!" Charles laughed.

"Yo Oswald!" Luke appeared behind the group.

"Luke! Hey what's up?" Heruseus gave him a high-five.

"Uhh, did you call me Oswald?" Osra asked him puzzled.

"Is that not what your name says?" Luke looked back at him with the same puzzled look.

"No, it's Osra!" Osra shouted.

"Whatever, looks like Oswald to me," Luke laughed and ran off.

"I wonder where he went off to," Mel watched Osra check his username.

Minutes later, Evan and Luke appeared with stronger armor and weapons. They came back with a short amount, but it will do fine. They also had classes to choose from. Evan had picked the Brawler class, a class that likes to the fight close and personal. He received an axe, and a sword. Luke had taken the Bishop class, a healing class. The only way Bishops could attack, was with special knives known as shives, a special knife only used by Bishops. It was fairly weak, but a way of defense.

Osra chose the Mixed Artist, a class where the player could use both magic and swords. He grabbed a water *tome, along with a steel sword. Heruseus chose the same class, but this time, he chose a lighting tome.

Chumbus surprisingly took the Feline class. The feline class was very rare, and only open to five players. The five players were selected at random, and lucky Chumbus took it in a heart beat. He received a tiger stone, which allowed him to transform into something close to a tiger.

Mel chose the Valkyrie class. This class was strictly about healing, but if leveled high enough, it enables a skill called "blitz". Blitz was a skill only given strictly to Valkyries, and a rare skill itself. Blitz gave the player the ability to master any weapon possible, while also still allowing healing. Technis II chose the same class, and gave her sister a high-five. They both received healing tomes.

Charles chose the Archer class, a long-ranged class. This class strictly specializes in bows, but also dark magic. Dark magic was a special type of magic within the game, and very powerful too. It could only be attained at higher levels.

"This is for you Gracie," Charles whispered to the bow once he received it.

"This is so cool!" Heruseus squealed.

"You got that right! Look at this sweat sword!" Osra said, rubbing his blade.

"Luke, Evan, how did you guys get all this?" Mel asked suspiciously.

"Evan already knew where all the cheap stores were, so that's where we got all the stuff," Luke shrugged his shoulders.

"Yep," Evan said excitedly as he rubbed his axe.

"Well," Luke clasped his hands together. "Everyone takes three red *pots, one green arrow, and one purple arrow," He said as he distributed all the supplies.

"Arrow?" Technis II tilted her head.

"Yeah, if you ever need a quick heal, and you're VERY VERY low on health, stab yourself with a green arrow. Only use them for emergencies, they're very expensive," Evan said as he put it away. "The purple arrow acts like a teleportation device, just stick it into a wall or solid area, say the name of the area you need to go, and then go. Pretty simple," Evan explained.

"Oh, so they're the game's crystals," Charles said examining the arrow,

"What?" Luke tilted his head.

"An item in Sword Art Online, but you don't need to worry about it," Heruseus put away his two arrows.

*A tome is a big book filled with spells used for attacks. *Pots are short for potions. Gamers are lazy and normally abbreviate.

"I can't wait to start guys! This will be so fun!" Evan raised his right fist in the air.

"Wait, where's Westin?" Heruseus looked around.

"I don't know, he said he was coming," Osra shrugged.

"That guy man," Chumbus crossed his arms.

"I'll log out for a second and call him," Mel said as she opened the menu. She scrolled all the way down, but froze. "It's gone," She muttered.

"What? What's gone?" Osra also froze.

"The button, it's not there," Mel's eyes filled with tears.

"Okay, let's just all calm down, this might only be bug, this game isn't very popular after all," Heruseus tried to calm everyone down, but he wanted to freeze inside.

"No, everyone thought this was a bug back then, but this possibly can't happen again," Chumbus shook his head grimly.

All of a sudden, a giant blue dome covered the whole starting area. Trapping everyone inside.


	2. Chapter 2: Déjà vu

**Chapter 2: Déjà vu**

As soon as Chumbus had said that, a huge figure wrapped in bandages appeared above everyone. Mel and Technis II began to cry. Osra and Heruseus started to cursed at the figure. Chumbus just sat down and put his hand over his face. Charles still stood frozen, unable to move. Luke and Evan watched as their friends broke down.

"N-Not again… How could this happen twice? TWICE?!" Mel bawled. She looked at Osra and Heruseus. _If this is real, I don't think anyone can't perish with these two around, maybe there's hope,_ Mel thought to herself.

"Hey! What does this mean?! You better fix this! Do you think this is funny?! Do you think it's so funny to see people run around and die in YOUR creation?! You have many lives at risk Baku! Including yours!" Osra shouted and shouted. He saw Mel and to stopped yelling to comfort her. _This can't be really be happening. I won't let anyone die here, not on my watch,_ Osra thought as he put his hands around Mel.

"What the heck do you think you're doing?! Huh?! It took two years to escape _Sword Art_ _Online_! Two damn YEARS! I'm not doing this again! If you don't let us out, you'll regret being created into the world! You've made a big mistake buddy!" Heruseus shouted at the cloaked figure. _I can't let anyone die here,_ He thought with rage.

"This can't be," Charles muttered. He thought the same thing over and over again, _I will get through this! For Gracie._

"N-No, how was so stupid to let this happen again? I knew something was up. I should have checked everything. I'm such an idiot. I let everyone down, and if anyone dies, it's all my fault." Chumbus mumbled to himself. He put his hand over his face and began to slap himself. He just couldn't accept what everyone was getting into again. _How?! How can this happen TWICE?!_ He thought every time his hand hit his face.

"This is it, this is the end. Only hell would claim us, if this were to happen twice," Technis II laughed with tears in her eyes. She laughed hysterically and said, "Oh, and I thought we would live "Happily After". Fire Stone was right, Tartarus has claimed us all."

There were other people shouting and crying too. They must have been S.A.O. survivors as well. Many people just stared at them each of them beginning to become scared. You could tell this event startled them as they tried to escape an invisible dome. The dome contained all players across a wide area bigger than the population in Sword Art Online. This was scary for everybody.

"You might be asking, 'Is this like S.A.O.?' I'll answer that question. This is bigger than _Sword Art Online._ You also might wonder, why do this after S.A.O.? Why not?" The figure began to grin. " I have provided you all with an important skill. This will help for my quest for you will face will be harder than the quest in S.A.O." Said the figure.

 _He said 'my'. This is Akino Baku_. Chumbus thought. _That also means he might be inside the game like Heathcliff. Is he going to pull the same thing Kayaba did? No, too obvious, someone would have noticed an overpowered player by now. What is this guy planning?_

Mel opened her inventory, and activated the skill, "party up".

"Party up, is a skill which allows you to group with other players. Originally, you would have to do this alone, but I'm not that cruel. Therefore, I am allowing people to team up on monsters. The rules from S.A.O. apply here," Akino continued. "Here's the catch. There is a special rest point called the Calm Room. It holds a special skill know as Last Chance. This will give you an extra life after you die. Be careful about this skill though, as people will kill for the skill. You may only carry one per time, and you may give them away. The one Calm Room will only hold ten Last Chance skills. This is to prove _Twisting Web Online_ will be harder than _Sword Art Online_. To leave T.W.O. you need to reach the end of my maze. Be careful, there will be a boss at the end along with all of the enemies you have faced before. The boss will be different for all guilds. It might be who you least expect it to be. There will be many foes and traps. Just a hint, pray you don't reach a dead end. Lastly, once someone beats the game, only that person's guild is set free. Good luck and I am watching. Be careful what you blurt out." Akino finished and disappeared.

Many people were outraged as he left. Others were depressed. The last ones were the craziest. Everyone looked up to see many people commit suicide. Many of them, grabbing their swords or anything dangerous, to end their lives. Austins grabbed Osra's sword. As he was about to end it all, Osra stopped him. He gave him a look no-one could submit themselves to. He asked if he was weak enough to fight back. He then stood up and grabbed a speaker. He made his way to the spot Baku stood.

Osra spoke to the crowd, "Are you guys really weak enough to let go and surrender against this?! You don't want to fight back and live through this obstacle?! To all you who said yes, go ahead and kill yourself. I'll let your family know you were too fragile to fight for your right to live. To be honest, I want to do the same too, but all of us need to move on and beat this wretched place that Akino calls a game! All of us need to be strong and see our families again! To all of the other S.A.O. survivors! If we can make it through _Sword Art Online,_ we make through here! We are all strong enough for the task we were given! We won't give up! We won't submit! Lastly! WE WON'T FALL!" Many stopped killing themselves.

"We will get through this!" A player shouted.

"We will prevail!" Another player shouted. Everyone cheered, and raised their fists.

The six survivors slowly came back to reality. They were the quickest to recover from this, as they were determined to leave T.W.O. All of them grouped up and decided to move on. Each of them were looking at Osra, which had given them all hope. He now wanted to see how they used it. The rest of the players had a lot of confidence regained, grouped up into guilds again. Everyone cheered and grouped into guilds.

"Dude, I didn't know you had it in you," Chumbus muttered.

"I can't have people dying when they have a chance of hope, a chance of escape. It's as simple as that. I know S.A.O. was scary and hard, and Akino saying that this is harder makes me laugh," Osra told him.

"He must have some serious guts for only making one maze!" Heruseus chuckled.

"Well, let's group up. Shall we?" Evan spoke up.

"Mel, it's okay, I'll protect you no matter what happens," Osra told Mel. "Now is not the time Evan," He said as he smacked Evan while he giggled.

"You promise?" She asked.

"I swear my life Mel," Osra assured her. "We all do. Whoever makes it out; you'll make it for sure."

"We got you Mel," Chumbus backed Osra up.

She started to cry harder.

"Good job knuckle head, you made Mel worse," Technis II socked Osra.

"Dang you hit hard," Osra rubbed his arm. "Well, it's best we get going guys. What shall our guild name be?" Osra asked.

"Glitter Ponies!" Luke shouted.

"Really? 'Attack of the Glitter Ponies!' " Osra replied.

"What about Lemon Smashers? Team Oswald?" Luke giggled as he ran from Osra.

"Why you little squirt!" Osra chased him around the plaza.

"The Dark Wings?" Evan suggested.

"No, too dark," Osra denied.

"What about Headless Heroes?" Evan asked.

"You can't suggest names anymore," Osra told him.

"What about The Hearts of Light?" Heruseus asked. "Once more?"

"That's fine with me," Chumbus along with everyone agreed.

"Hearts of Light? That sounds gay," Evan laughed.

"Better than Headless Heroes," Osra laughed. Evan mocked him, but then he punched him in the shoulder. He fell onto the floor, rubbing his shoulder. "Okay I'll invite everyone, and Executioner?" Osra stopped. He looked at Evan if he were a psycho.

"That's me," Evan got up.

"You're the Executioner?" Osra questioned.

"What? It's a cool name! I really didn't expect this to happen, and I'm sorry, but what's wrong with my name?" Evan asked.

"It's just. Never mind, whatever. Lastly, Lizardon?" Osra stopped once more.

"What? It means dragon, which is awesome! Honestly, it's better than Oswald," Luke told Osra. "Lizardon forever!"

"I'm not Oswald! Whatever, I guess that's cool," Osra said sarcastically. "Now everybody accept the invite into the guild. The Hearts of Light is reborn! We will all get through this," Osra told everyone with confidence.

"Hey Osra," Chumbus spoke up. "Why don't we all rest here for the night and leave first thing in the morning?"

"Yeah it was a kind of long day," Heruseus yawned.

"Then we need to find a place to stay, because we can't stay out here," Executioner noted. Executioner continued, "While Luke- I mean Lizardon and I was buying all the stuff, we saw a nice small hotel. That would be a great start."

"Nice," Heruseus spoke out. He took out his money pouch, which was provided for everyone once they spawned, "That means we still need gold. You have any left over?"

"We have about one hundred left and with the money they give you when you start the game should be enough," Lizardon said as he counted all the gold coins he and Executioner had left over.

"Wow, I didn't even know I had two thousand gold coins," Chumbus checked his inventory.

As Executioner and Lizardon led the other four across the dim-lit plaza, you could tell it was getting darker. It would be scary for someone to wander the maze at night. Just think of fighting monsters in pitch-black darkness. How would you see the enemy? Would you rely on luck? It's something an insane person would do.

By the time they arrived to the hotel, it was already pitch-black. The only thing they could see was the lanterns hung up by the locals around the large rest point. The six had finally settled down in three rooms. Mel owned a room with her sister alone. Heruseus, Chumbus, and Osra shared a room. Lastly, Lizardon, Charles, and Executioner took up the last room. They all met in Mel's room.

"Dang, two hundred golden coins per night? I have a feeling the guy down there is ripping us off," Heruseus said angrily. He shoved his coins in his pocket and said, "We're leaving after tomorrow; we still need our gold for better weapons and armor. Executioner and Lizardon brought good things but after are weapons break; we'll all be disarmed and end up dying."

"Okay, so what are we going to do tomorrow? We don't know what's in that maze and how dangerous it is yet," Mel asked. Mel took out her healing tome, and flipped through the pages. She pointed at the number on the back of the page and said, "Plus, Heruseus is right, we need better, durable, weapons and armor. My tome is new, and still has forty more uses, but you guys will need it more. Lizardon, Technis II, and I will be healing you guys from the back."

"Okay, we'll get Lizardon, Executioner, and Chumbus to go into the first few levels of the maze and get a sample of what we're going against. Technis II, if you can help Lizardon heal the two, it would be great," Osra spoke after putting together a plan. He clapped his hands and said, "Not too far in guys. Heruseus, Mel, Charles and I will go buy armor and weapons. You guys agree?"

"It's cool," Technis II yawned.

"Actually, how come I have to go in?" Lizardon asked.

"If Chumbus and Executioner were gravely hurt, who would be there to help them? Plus, you, Chumbus, and Executioner could get a good start on leveling up, and find a farming spot maybe. Don't worry, Technis II will help you guys heal," Osra replied. "Anymore questions?" He asked again.

"Why do I have toooo goooo in?" Chumbus whined.

"Ughh Chumbus, stop being so lazy and do it," Osra harshly replied. "Now, anymore questions?"

Silence.

"Alright then, everyone, return to your rooms and get a good-night's rest. We have a big day ahead of us. Especially you four," He pointed at the four scouting the maze. "You guys better sleep well! Night guys!" Osra said while opening the door. He ignored Lizardon as he kept saying Oswald, but always gained the urge to leave him stranded in the maze with no form of defense what so ever. He giggled to himself and closed Mel's door.

Everyone eventually left Mel and Technis II's room and returned to their owns. As everyone went to bed, well tried to go to bed, most of them had terrifying nightmares. Chumbus had the most horrible dream out of them all.

Chumbus awoke inside his house in the real world. _Was Twisting Web just a terrible nightmare? Is everyone alright?_ He thought. He rose from his bed and slowly walked to the television he had left on last night. He rubbed his eyes and squinted as he saw was going on inside the mounted device. He saw all of his friends inside T.W.O. Technis II was missing, and Executioner lied on the floor, holding his gut. Most of them were fighting what seems to be a giant shadow like figure with many limbs. This shadow figure also had an army of things. Whatever they were, they moved swiftly and dangerous. They all wielded legendary weapons. A blue portal opened as Heruseus had flipped a switch. Everyone entered the portal except Osra and Heruseus. Osra then shoved Heruseus into the portal and flipped the switch that closed the portal. He shouted out something Chumbus couldn't make out. Osra pointed his blade high and began to sprinted towards the beast.

Osra killed many enemies but he was slammed across the room when the giant foe had swung one of his arms. Osra got up and spat blood. He muttered something and leaped only to stab the giant beast in it's huge big eye. The beast disappeared but that vass sea of enemies is yet to be defeated. Osra was stabbed and impaled through his upper torso. He tried his best to fight on. As he was overwhelmed and stared towards Chumbus's direction. He wanted to turn it off but the button that would do so wouldn't do anything. He was watched as his best friend was shredded to bits. Piece by piece, bits by bits. His screams were so loud, Chumbus could hear every call for help. Chumbus banged on the television. The television then shut off immediately.

Chumbus then turned around to see a spirit-like Osra staring at him. Osra had holes inside him as if the television was right and foretold the future.

"Forgive me," Osra mouthed to show he couldn't speak. He came closer to Chumbus and tried to hug him.

Chumbus started to cry and tried to hug him back, "It's okay buddy." Osra then flew through him and tried to grab someone behind him. Chumbus turned around and then was impaled through the chest with a spear. He looked down, blood pouring around him, but the scenery had changed. He looked around, and realized he was back in the maze.

"Chumbus!" Heruseus screamed. "Mel! Go help him!" He told her. Mel rushed over to him, and began to heal him.

"What were you doing?" Mel asked. "Keep your eyes open Justin! That nearly killed you," Mel finished, and ran to heal someone else.

The wall behind Executioner and Lizardon collapsed onto them, as more enemies poured in.

"Damn, I can't move!" Executioner pulled on his leg. "Lizardon can you heal me?" He looked besides him.

"My tome. I can't reach it!" Lizardon tried to reach the tome in front of him.

"Hold on guys! We're on our way!" Osra shouted. He slashed an enemy aside, and tried to lift the debris. Heruseus and Charles covered him behind, but were soon disarmed by the enemy. They all hid behind a chunk of the debris, all disarmed. Their weapons stood in the middle of the battlefield.

"You guys suck!" Mel laughed as she tried to run over to Lizardon. An enemy behind her surprised her, dropping her tome. "Looks like we all suck," Mel hid behind some debris. Her health was down to twenty percent.

Technis II became surrounded by enemies, one by one trying to slash her head off. She dashed back and forth, unable to attack. "Guys, I'm in a bit of pinch right now!" Technis II screamed.

"Well, aren't we all?" Charles shouted.

"Chumbus! Stop spacing out! Quickly, grab our weapons!" Heruseus called out to him.

"No! Go help Luke and Evan! Their health is falling quickly!" Mel told them.

"You need help too Mel! You're down to fifteen percent!" Osra called out.

"Don't worry about me right now! Justin, go help them or they'll die!" Mel screamed.

It was too late. Chumbus stood frozen as he watched his friends die. At the same time, Executioner and Lizardon faded away, revealing they died. An enemy slashed away the cover Mel had, and decapitated her. Her body faded

away slowly.

Unable to attack, the circle of enemies caught up to Technis II, and ripped her to pieces. Bits of her body faded. Eventually, the three hiding behind the debris were overwhelmed and all faded away. An enemy took aim for Chumbus, but as the enemy swung, he woke up.


	3. Chapter 3: Midnight Battle

**Chapter 3: Midnight Battle**

Everyone went to bed. All but three couldn't sleep. Osra couldn't sleep, and Mel wouldn't either. Heruseus barely slept at all. All of them were just thinking of their families' reaction to them getting stuck in a video game again. When Mel finally fell asleep, Osra got up from the ground since Chumbus and Heruseus occupied the two beds available, and left to go outside. He just sat on the hotel porch and thought about his responsibilities now that he had given a plan.

 _Why did I say that? Damn I'm an idiot._ Osra thought. _I'm going to have to protect all of them._ _If anyone dies, it needs to be me. I need everyone to go back to their families. I wonder what my mom is thinking right now. I literally just talked to her yesterday. How can so much happen in one day? How did this happen twice? How was I so stupid?_ He then felt someone pat his back. He looked to the right to see Mel sit down with him.

"Can't sleep?" She asked.

"Nope," Osra replied.

"Yeah me too. You know they all look up to you as a leader right? We all do," She said as she rested her head on his shoulder. "Other than Heruseus," Mel laughed. "Although the both of you make a great fighting pair, you and him are separate leaders. Either way, he makes a great leader too," Mel spoke quietly.

"You have a good point, it's just that sometimes he doesn't think clearly. It's just I don't want anyone to die. If anyone should die, it should be me. The things I did in S.A.O. would traumatize anyone," Osra rubbed Mel's arm. "I KILLED someone Melody! I murdered Gokul!" Osra started to tear up. "I ended Gokul's life!" He took his arm off Mel and placed his hands on his face.

Heruseus stood awake, quietly listening to their conversation. He hoped Mel didn't see him follow her.

"Josh," Mel started. "It was kill or be killed. Laughing Coffin was a guild filled of red players. They killed many of the KoB. They killed Gracie!" She told him. "Let's get some rest. Okay?" Mel said with sorrow. "I know it was a dark time, but you need to keep your head up and focus now. Don't dwell on the past when you the present to deal with. You always said there was hope. Hope will never fade away. Right? Hope didn't fade away in S.A.O. and it shouldn't fade away here." Mel told him.

"I guess you're right," Osra cheered up a bit. Osra inched closer to Mel's face as she did the same. Nervously, the two were about to kiss when they heard a scream. Mel looked towards the maze. Heruseus joined them.

"It came from the entrance," Heruseus pointed towards the maze..

"Whoa whoa whoa. How long were you there?" Mel asked.

"That shouldn't be your concern right now," Heruseus readied his sword.

 _Was he there the whole time? Shoot, did he see that?_ Osra thought. Osra shook his head and stared st the entrance. _Who would be in the maze at this time of night?_

Heruseus saw a person with a lantern running towards him along with two other people. The first person was a tall boy with black hair and a lot of freckles. His skin was white, like he just saw his life flash before him. That was all Mel could make out in the distance.

One was Asian boy with black hair, and his height was in the middle. That's all Osra could see.

Lastly, the shortest one had blond hair and white to tan skin. Heruseus already knew who he was. They all heard three broken notes play aloud.

The people were screaming. "Help! Help us!" They looked badly damaged. "Dude, please you have to help us!"

Three more broken notes played. As the people came closer, everyone realized they were people they had known from the school they once went to.

"David? Kameron? Brett?" Heruseus shouted.

"No way," The tall one said. "You guys made it?"

"Brett!" Mel shouted. "What are the odds of finding you three here? Here, let me heal you guys," Mel said as she got out her mending staff.

Brett was the tall one, Kameron was the shortest one, and David was the Asian one.

"Thanks Mel, but we don't have time to chat. My guild is dying in there!" Kameron then pointed towards the maze.

"Hey, what are going to do Osra? We can't just wake up everyone to go battle." Heruseus whispered.

"You're right Heruseus. Then only we three will go." Osra replied. He quickly grabbed his water tome and dashed off without his sword. Two more notes rang. Osra grabbed the lantern said, "We better hurry then. We can only hope we make it in time."

The six ran as fast as they could to the maze. They knew they were getting close due to all the noise. Another note rang. Without Kameron's lantern, all you would hear was the clinking noises of everyone's swords banging against the enemies', and an occasional 'zap'. There were many players fighting in the dark. Lanterns every few feet lit up a small area. The enemies had black eyes like they had no eyes at all, just empty eye sockets. Their skin was a very dark blue. All their weapons varied from swords to bows to axes to even tomes, a full ensemble of weapons. The scary part was they all looked like normal human beings. They flopped around like they had no spleen, and their mouths hung open. It was a never-ending army of demonic, soulless soldiers. That was all Mel, Heruseus, and Osra could see in the light. Another scream was heard, but this time, Osra realized who it was. His eyes widened.

"Rachino?!" Shouted Osra, "Is that you?!"

"Huh? No way! Jersh?! Help I don't want to die!" Rachel shouted back.

"I'm on my way!" Osra sprinted towards her.

A whole handful of demonic soldiers had surrounded her. Her health was very low, but lucky enough; Mel's mending staff was in range to heal her. Another note rang. Before Mel could even pull out her staff, Heruseus and Osra had already killed the soulless soldiers. The fire tome Kameron used lit a couple of them on fire, which were flailing around and made it more horrendous. More were coming their way. Kameron, Brett, and David watched in amazement of the power of only these two.

"They're only warming up," Mel smirked as she told them

"Thanks, have we met before?" Rachel asked Mel.

"No, we haven't," replied Mel. "I'm Mel, a good friend of Josh, how do you know him?" She asked suspiciously.

"I'm Rachel, he's one of my good friends too," She smiled. "Don't worry, I only know him through Justin, or Chumbus, and he calls me big sister, so I won't get in your way," She told her.

"What do you mean by that?" Mel glared.

"C'mon. Your crush revealed itself when you asked me how I know him. Your tone gave it away," Rachel smacked an enemy with her sword.

"Nope," She pointed towards Brett. "I have my eyes on a bigger prize," She giggled.

"Whatever, you can think of what you want, but your heart always wins in the end," Rachel smiled and walked off.

Heruseus dodged an attack, and leaped off a wall. He did a front-flip, and slashed the enemy who tried to attack him. He laughed and said, "Oh yeah I'm back baby!" He did a back-flip to evade an attack, and another back-flip to show off. "Wrong move," Heruseus smirked. He jumped off a nearby wall, and pointed towards the enemy. He shot through him like a bullet. He then dashed over to another enemy and diced him up like mince meat. "It's not over yet!" Heruseus shouted in a dramatic way, as a group of enemies surrounded him. They all attempted to hack and slash away at him. "Checkmate," Heruseus muttered. He got out his lighting tome and enchanted his sword. He waited for the enemies to draw closer. He waited and waited, then boom! He spun around like a tornado, paralyzing and slashing enemies. As he stopped he said, "Beat that Osra."

"My turn!" Osra said as he did a front-flip over an enemy and blasted him with water pressure of four-thousand PSI. (Pounds per square inch). The power of the water obliterated the enemy. "Damn, that's one hell of a tome," Osra laughed. "I'm a walking geyser!" Osra put bottom of his hands on the floor and forced the water in the ground. Pillars of water surrounded him, killing more enemies. He did a back-flip, and spun around to mock Heruseus. The water surrounded him as he spun. "Time to finish them off!" Osra said in a dramatic fashion. He stopped and held his hand out, pointing at a row of enemies. "There's no hope for you," He released all the power he charged up inside. A thousand arrows of water shot towards the line of baddies. The pillar of water cleared the hall, including the light. "Oops," he muttered.

"Great job idiot," Mel slapped him in the back of the head.

"I'll be right back, I see something," Osra ran off.

"Hey! Josh, don't wander in the maze alone!" Kameron screamed.

"Don't worry, he can handle himself," Mel said as she healed herself.

"Hey guys! We better hurry back!" Brett alarmed them. "It's too dark!" He shouted again.

"It's-a-me!" A giant ball of fire erupted in the middle of the hall, reigniting the lanterns. "Pyrus!" A short, chubby boy appeared out of no-where. His blue eyes sparkled in the flame-light.

"Westin!" Heruseus ran up to him.

"Theo! I knew I heard your voi," Heruseus slapped him across the face.

"Idiot. I thought you were in the real world! Why didn't you come find us then?" Heruseus scolded him.

"Hey! I saw Brett first, and then we couldn't find you guys!" Pyrus argued. "Either way, I got lost in the maze because we all scattered, and then I saw a giant wave rush past me, and knew Josh was close, so I followed the wet marks," Pyrus pointed at the puddles on the floor.

"Did you see us in action?" Heruseus grinned.

"No, but I bet you guys looked stupid," Pyrus laughed.

"Whatever, you still got lost," Heruseus laughed.

"Bruh, this is a MAZE!" Pyrus shouted.

"Ehh, good point," Heruseus said.

"Wait, where's Keith and Kate?! Last time I checked, they were with you!" Rachel screamed.

"You mean these two?" Osra said as he came back with a red-haired boy along with brown-haired girl. Both of them were drenched.

"I could have handled it myself!" Keith said. His emerald eyes sparkled in the light.

"Yeah, being completely surrounded by enemies while defending your girlfriend was totally too easy for you. I shouldn't have interfered," Osra said sarcastically. He glared and said, "No kid, you were down to ten percent, one more hit with that armor, and you would've died."

"Hey, Keith did his best!" Kate tried to defend him.

"Honestly, he's pretty tough, with better armor, he could have done better," Osra shrugged his shoulders. "With a bigger brain, maybe he would've been as good as me or Heruseus. Would have," Osra glared at Keith.

"You askin' for a fight?" Keith drew his sword.

"If you insist," Osra rolled his eyes.

"Let's go!" David told them.

"Good idea," Heruseus pulled Osra back, while Kate and Rachel pulled Keith back.

"Let me go Theo. This guy is asking for one hundred thousand pounds of water up his," Osra raised a fist.

"Okay, okay, calm down buddy. Let's get to the hotel," Mel pushed him towards the entrance.

"Wait! Where's Kyls?" Pyrus looked around.

"Wait, that name sounds familiar," Osra stopped tugging.

"Yeah, Kyls. My older sister," Pyrus reminded them.

"Oh yeah, but it wasn't that," Osra leaned on the wall. The wall squeaked and pushed him off. "G-Guys, did the wall just squeal?" Osra crawled back.

"There she is," Pyrus grabbed her shirt. A girl emerged from the wall

"H-Hi," She said.

"Oh! I remember you now! You dated my cousin," Osra casually said.

"What?" Pyrus slapped him.

"Ow?" Osra looked at him.

"Why are you questioning that?" Pyrus glared at him.

"Because it didn't hurt," Osra put away his tome.

"Oh, now I remember you! You've grown a lot," Kyls smiled.

"Why? Who?" Pyrus grunted.

"I dated his cousin Ryel, two years ago," Kyls looked down and smiled more. She remembered the memories of them two visiting the fair every month, and hanging out by the fountain near the park. She also remembered _Sword Art Online_ taking him away from her.

"That douche? Didn't he slap you once?" Pyrus argued.

" _That douche_ was Yellow Flash. If you dis my family again, I don't know if you should be in the guild," Osra glared.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Pyrus remembered how nice Yellow Flash was. He gave him his last healing crystal, which led to his fate. "Look I didn't know Osra, I'm sorry, and to you too sis," Pyrus looked down.

"It's fine. The past is the past, and we shouldn't dwell on it when we have the present to deal with," Osra smiled. "So Kyls, do you mind if I call you by your user-name?" He looked back at her.

"Huh? Oh Purple Gleam? Yeah, I actually prefer you do that," Purple Gleam nodded.

"Can I call you P.G.?" Osra asked, trying to shorten it.

"That's fine," P.G. smiled.

"Alright then, let's head back to the hotel," Osra had already began to walk.

The ten of them made safe and sound back to the hotel, and the sun had risen, providing more light. Heruseus, Osra. and Mel leveled up insanely.

"Damn, we almost died," Kameron tightened his hand.

"Hey get used to it," Heruseus wrapped bandages around his hand. "We've all stared down death so much in _Sword Art Online_ , it feels normal," Heruseus began to wrap his other hand.

"Yep, he's got a point. If we're going to get out of this alive, you have to get used to reacting quickly, or you might get someone killed, and maybe yourself," Osra cracked his neck.

"So Brett, what exactly happened?" Mel asked him. She rested her head on his lap.

"It all began after Osra gave his speech. We all got ready to take the maze on," Brett ran his fingers through her hair as he stared blankly towards nothingness. His face was painted with not only fear and depression, but also shock. "We were the Infinity Hounds, my guild. My younger brother came up with it. Continuing on, we gathered our armor and weapons, ready to take this thing head on," Brett's mouth quivered. "I told them to wait! I told them to rest today and go tomorrow! But they didn't listen. Marx said mom was dying, and needed our support immediately. He was right, but it wasn't the smart thing to do. Kameron tried to reason with him too, but he just pushed him aside. We were right, we were not ready," Brett's eyes filled with tears. "Our defense felt impeccable. Like nothing could get through it. We took out every enemy, and gained levels as we went by, but as you saw we didn't make it that far in complete darkness. Those things, monsters, whatever they were. They were horrendous. First, they took out our lantern people, to take away our vision. Then they wiped out all of the front shield men, our strongest people, which included my brother Marx. They fought like clever savages, severing heads, and disarming people. Oh they were definitely skilled, but just too strong. If we didn't get help, we would've died. Oh Marx, why didn't you listen?" Brett's tears fell atop of Mel's head.

She sat up and hugged him, "Go ahead, let it all out, just lean against the soothing Melody."

Smashed against Mel's chest, he tried to talk, but he couldn't. He cried, "I'm scared Melody. I don't know what to do."

"You know," Mel quoted Osra," you keep moving on. That's what you do."

Brett stood up, and wiped his face, "Sorry, I ruined your shirt."

"It's okay," Mel blushed. The chest portion of her shirt was soaked wet by his tears.

"I'm so sorry, I hate crying in front of people. It feels like I'm asking for sympathy and pity, but thanks either way. Thank you guys so much in general for saving the rest of us. We all thank you guys, even if some of us don't show it," Brett smiled.

Mel died inside. "It's cool," Mel said smoothly. Brett laughed and then Kameron went to talk to him.

"Hey, we should consider joining their guild," Kameron told him.

"I thought we were already doing that," Brett asked, confused.

"Yeah, but Keith and Kate don't want to, and where they go, Rachel follows," Kameron started, "we can't afford to lose ONE of us."

"Ugh, why drama why?! We're joining, their team is well balanced with healers and bruisers. They also have very good strategists, and Mel's here," Brett blushed a little bit. Kameron smiled and laughed at him a little bit. "Shush," He mini-slapped him.

"Well you do have a point, even though Mel isn't relevant right now, but what about Keith and Kate?" Kameron asked.

"Don't worry they won't leave," Brett crossed his arms. He then faced the whole group and said, "Alright guys, we're in!" Everyone cheered except Keith and Kate. "But we're going to need some serious levels!" Brett clapped his hands.

"Let's wait for everyone to wake up," Heruseus told them.


	4. Chapter 4: Maze Scouts

**Author's Note: I did update all the chapters so far. I forgot Technis was supposed to have a "II" next to it so she would mark her as the second Technis. I also put in some character descriptions in the middle of the prolouge. Thanks, and continue reading.**

* * *

 **Chapter 4:** **Maze Scouts**

"I'm sending an invite to you guys," Osra said as he walked.

"Got it!" Brett laughed.

"Why are you laughing?" Osra turned around, his screen still open. He his eyes shot daggers right through the whitened screen.

"Mel just told me a joke about someone," Brett paused.

"About whom?" Osra closed his screen, his left eyebrow raised.

"Monkeys, that's what it was," Brett laughed. Mel laughed besides him.

"Sure. Anyway, welcome to The Hearts of Light," Osra felt a pain of jealousy. "I don't like Brett and Mel close to each other," Osra told Heruseus.

"That's not surprising at all," Heruseus muttered.

"What?" Osra glared at him.

"Nothing," Heruseus said immediately. "Why don't you like him?" Heruseus questioned.

"I have a feeling he's going to get Mel killed," Osra said sternly. "And I also saw him on her chest. Really! His head was smashed against her chest! I wanna kill him right now, and it might save us later," Osra turned around to see Mel and Brett laughing again. His face grew red due to anger.

"Bro, that's called jealousy, and it's normal to feel it. And take that face off, you're scaring the locals," Heruseus looked at Osra strangely. Osra looked at one of the villagers, and they ran inside quickly.

"Yeah, sorry," Osra restored his original color.

"Hey guys," Kameron sped up to them.

"Yo," Osra gave him a high-five.

"Hey, just saying, we need to discuss the enemy. It's a necessity we need to," Kameron looked Heruseus straight in the eyes and slowed down to talk to Brett and Mel.

"I wonder if anyone's awake yet," Mel joined the conversation.

"If anyone, we all know Chumbus would still be," Heruseus paused as Chumbus ran out the door and gave Osra a very long hug.

"Whoa," Osra stumbled. "Okay, who are you and what happened to the real Justin?"

"Josh, you bully," Mel nudged him and giggled.

"Sorry, Osra. I'm just glad you're okay," Chumbus replied softly. To him, the dream felt too real so he explained what he saw to everyone. He decided to keep Osra's death and ghost to himself.

"Wait a minute, we all became trapped? Like that will ever happen," Heruseus laughed.

"That means we'll all have to become more agile and aware. We have to become more careful," Chumbus responded.

"Look at this guy becoming less lazy!" Osra giggled.

"Shuddup, well what happened in there guys?" Chumbus asked.

"We entered the maze great. We thought we were perfect, and we were fine. Our defenses were great and we had many skilled people. We killed all the spiders that came intact, but then the things attacked. Everything just broke down, decayed. One death led to another. Our leader, Hikaru, told us to leave and find help, or something. There were sixteen of us. Only seven came back," Kameron explained. "Speaking of the "things, we need to discuss what they are," Kameron cracked his knuckles.

"Okay, I don't know if anyone saw this, but when Marx was killed, he turned dark blue. His eyes turned pure black, and he got back up like one of the things," Brett exclaimed.

"So we have fallen soldiers that have risen to join the fight?" Charles emerged from the stair case.

"Well definitely not in a good way," Chumbus shook his head. He scratched his head and suggested, "We should give them a name, so it's easier to call them out."

"Risen?" Charles asked. "It has a great ring to it," He smiled.

"No," P.G. spoke up. "It doesn't fit as well," She shook her head.

"Fallen," Mel remarked.

"That fits better," P.G. smiled.

"I know I'm fabulous," Pyrus came out of no-where. "No need to remind me," He smirked. Everyone laughed, although some looked confused.

"Whoa, more people," Technis II rubbed her eyes. She took a seat, and joined the discussion.

"Is this everyone?" Heruseus looked around.

"No, Executioner and Lizardon just woke up, give them time," Technis II yawned. A sudden smoke bomb hit the center of the room, grabbing everyone's attention.

"No need to clap, we are here!" Executioner and Lizardon appeared in the middle of the room. Executioner stood up straight with his arms out, while Lizardon ducked and had his arms over his head. "Correction Pyrus, we are more fabulous," Executioner smirked.

"Why didn't we use the stairs? They're right there!" Lizardon pointed at the stairs.

"Because we're too fabulous," Executioner said casually.

"This guild is weird," Kameron muttered, "and I like that!"

"Let's all take this upstairs, we're scaring other players," P.G. looked around.

"So guys," Pyrus talked to the group, "what are going to do?"

"Chumbus, Technis II, Executioner, and Lizardon is going to scout the maze while Osra, Mel, Charles, and I look for better armor in the slums area of the plaza. It's best for you guys to stay and rest. You've probably been up all night," Heruseus suggested.

"Great idea," Brett nodded.

Everybody rested for a while, and then got to catch up with each other.

"Hey big sis, what are you doing here?" Chumbus and Osra asked her.

"I wanted to feel how you guys felt. Guess I got what I wished for," Rachel replied

"Haha you stupid," Chumbus laughed.

"Shut up! At least I didn't get stuck in a video game! Twice!" Rachel fired back.

"Guys, guys, guys, calm down," Osra interrupted them. After the two had calm down, Osra left to go find Mel. Chumbus went to get Evan and wait at the entrance.

Osra walked up to Mel, who seemed to fussing with something. Osra wanted to take her mind off it, or she would get very frustrated.

"Mel, what level are you now?" Osra asked.

"Level nine, one more person I'll level up," Mel replied happily.

Osra jumped up twice, and then squatted twice. He stepped left, then right twice, and then punched the air with his left then his right. He grabbed a nearby arrow and jammed in into his left leg. He bit back a curse and stabbed himself in the other leg.

"Heal me quickly," Osra replied back. "My health is falling," Osra held his leg.

"How did," Mel asked.

"It's a glitch I found, a dangerous one."

Mel healed him, confused, and leveled up to ten, which increased her healing range. It also restored her weapons' durability. Osra then went up to Technis II and repeated the same process. Technis II grew to level two, which increased her range.

"Thanks a lot Osra!" Technis II smiled. "I think Chumbus and Executioner are waiting for us already, so we better get going," She waved and ran off.

"Lizardon, heal me," Osra did it again with Lizardon so he could get a start on leveling up.

"Thanks Osra!" Lizardon said with delight, "at least I can attack if I need to." Lizardon leveled up to level two, activating his "shive" skill.

"Watch out for the Fallen," Osra said after wrapping his legs with bandages. He gave a thumbs up and said, "Don't die on me."

"I can't keep any promises," Lizardon gave a shy smile and left to join the other three who were waiting in front of the entrance.

"You guys ready to scout the maze guys?" Lizardon asked the three who stood waiting at the entrance.

"We were waiting on you," Chumbus replied, "let's go."

As the four walked through the maze, Heruseus, Osra, Mel, and Charles went to go buy more weapons and armor. The rest of Infinity Hounds rested at the hotel. They all slept oh so soundly.

"This is the maze?" Executioner mumbled. He kicked rocks in his path.

"It's pretty wide for a maze," Chumbus whimpered.

"That's definitely not good," Technis II took out her tome. "This won't be easy," She walked around cautiously.

The maze was filled with twists and turns. The four could've been lost, but they didn't go too far in. They went far enough to reach the Fallen.

"So these guys are the infamous Fallen?" Chumbus asked himself.

"What made these guys so scary? They're just blue people," Lizardon laughed.

"You need to remember this was at night. Fighting in the pitch-black darkness. Darkness can play a lot of illusions on your mind," Technis II reminded them.

"Evan! Watch your back!" Chumbus shouted.

"Huh?" Executioner ducked as a huge metal axe had nearly beheaded him. "Whoa, these guys look strong! They have metal armor and heavy axes!" He squealed. He laughed, "Your mistake!" He said as he took the head off the armored fallen that tried to take his. He then switched his sword to his axe, and laughed, "You're all going to die now!" He spun around, the momentum building with the weight of the axe. He inched closer to a group of Fallen soldiers, and ripped them to shreds like a blender.

Lizardon and Chumbus just stared at him as he ran around dismembering the heavy foes laughing and giggling.

"Hey guys! Stop watching Executioner execute when you should be doing the same!" Technis II rolled out of the way of an electric blast. She healed Executioner, and then kept dodging.

"Right!" Chumbus transformed into a tiger-like animal with spikes covering his back, and pounced on the nearest enemy. As he tore up the Fallen soldier, he mumbled, "This feels really good!" Another soldier aimed for his head, but Chumbus dashed out of the way and pounced on him like a yarn ball. He laughed, "You thought you would win?" He began to spin like a ball, and threw himself at a line of enemies. "Time to finish you off!" He roared, stunning any enemies nearby, and split them apart.

"Keep going, Justin! I got you!" Lizardon healed him, then threw a knife at an enemy. He dodged a blow from the right, and then jammed a knife into the enemy's neck.

"Guys! They keep coming back here. This could make a great *farming spot. We'll all level up in no time!" Executioner said once his massacre was over.

"Uhh, Evan? You okay bud?" Chumbus asked.

"I feel better than ever!" He replied quickly. "Why?" He giggled.

"I think you need to sit down for a little," Lizardon slowly told him.

"Why do you think so?" He asked while pointing his sword at Lizardon. He had a grin like he was about to slice his head off and kick it around like a soccer ball.

"Never mind! Never mind!" Lizardon ran behind Technis II.

"Look, we'll go over here, you go there. Okay?" Technis II said very slowly. Something fell behind her as he backed up. Startled, Lizardon fell and stumbled on a button.

"Don't touch that button!" Chumbus shrieked.

"Huh?" Lizardon pushed the button and a door opened across the hall with an eerie glow. Lizardon then approached the door as if he were in a trance.

"Executioner! Quickly switch off that handle!" Chumbus said as he transformed back to normal, and rammed Lizardon. Executioner also approached the door as if the door had a hold of him too. "Give me a brake," Chumbus mumbled.

"Chumbus what is that?" Technis II screamed over the blaring noises the door let out.

*Farming in gaming is normally referenced to collecting experience to level up, or wait for a special item.

"Whatever it is, don't look at it!" Chumbus screamed. "Try to get over here and hold Luke down! I'm going for the switch!" Chumbus waited for Technis II to reach him, and then he raced across the room to the lever Lizardon had pulled while fighting Fallen at the same time. He tried not to look into the door, for it would show him a realistic illusion of a past memory and attract him into the door only for him to fall into a horrible trap of spikes.

Executioner had only been four feet from the door when it slammed in his face. He stared blankly at Chumbus who was covered in cuts and bruises, and was down to five percent of health. Lizardon looked like he wanted to cry. Technis II healed him, while Lizardon healed Executioner, since they all took damage.

"I-I saw my mother," Lizardon stared blankly at the door after healing Executioner. "She was there. She was alive," Lizardon began to cry.

"It'll be okay Luke, c'mon. Let's farm some experience," Chumbus picked up Lizardon from the floor. "You're going to live through this for her, okay?" Chumbus smiled.

"Yeah, I won't die!" Lizardon raised his fist. He looked sternly at the door and said, "I'll be more serious from now on! I promise mom!" He wiped away his tears and rejoined the fight.

A couple hours later of farming the experience from the Fallen, the four had already surpassed Mel and the others. Lizardon's knives were just as powerful as throwing swords. Executioner gained the ability to carry a third heavy weapon, and Technis II's range grew double the size of a football field. Chumbus unlocked a skill which allowed him to turn into a dragon if he held the correct stone. It was the perfect spot for training.

"You guys ready to head back?" Lizardon asked.

"If we have to," Executioner mewled.

"Yeah, it's getting darker. They seem to get stronger the darker the area gets," Chumbus noted. As the three started to walk back, they saw another guild going inside the maze.

"Hey, don't go in now, the enemy units get stronger in the dark. Trust us, friends of mine just saved eight people from another guild that entered with over twenty. That guild was seriously strong but failed to get past the stronger units. If you're smart, you'll listen to me," Chumbus put his hand up in front of them.

"Pfft, another troll*. I'm sick and tired of you guys running around giving incorrect information and scaring people with your stories. Akino telling us we're stuck here is bad enough, and now we have tricksters in here? Get out of the way before things turn red," The leader spouted.

"Look buddy, we are saving you AND your guild. It's best you leave when you get stronger," Technis II cut in. "It already looks like your men are tired already. You won't survive in the dark," Technis II stated.

"Aw, do you need your girlfriend to step for you?" He drew his sword. "Come at me then," He growled.

"Meric, I don't think he's lying," One of the other soldiers said.

"Don't fall for their crap! It's all fake, and if you don't want to fight with me, you're dead to me," Meric stabbed the soldier in the chest, and looted all his items before he faded away. A broken note played.

*Trolls in gaming or any social media are normally meant to be people who trick other people for attention like actual trolls

"What the hell is wrong with you?! You just killed one of your own!" Lizardon backed up, watching as his cursor turn red. Executioner glared and unsheathed his blade.

"Calm down Evan, we'll just let them go," Technis II put her arm across Executioner and nodded at Chumbus.

"Then be at it my friend, your funeral. By the way, I'm not tricking you, you're just too stupid to realize I'm telling the truth," Chumbus moved out of the way to let the twenty person guild entered the maze.

"We'll see you guys in hell," Technis II barked.

"You guys are just mad we'll get out before all of you," Meric laughed as he entered the maze.

"Dude, you just let them die! You could've said something else!" Lizardon said with disbelief.

"I don't want to argue with stubborn people. You don't see me argue with Heruseus right? I don't want them to die, I don't want ANYONE to die, but they insist they do. I do wish they live through, if hope could save them," Chumbus replied.

As the four walked back to the hotel, nineteen broken notes rang. Executioner, Technis II, and Lizardon stopped and turned around while Chumbus kept walking. Chumbus smirked as he heard Meric scream and the last note played.


	5. Chapter 5: The Four Stooges

**Chapter 5: The Four Stooges**

"We're back!" Chumbus waved at everyone in the room. Everyone seemed to be gathered in Mel's room again. Lizardon told them their epic journey scouting the maze, and about the idiotic guild who dived in headfirst.

"Also, don't forget to chop everyone's head off," Executioner said with enthusiasm. Everyone looked at him with confusion.

"Uhh, should we be worried about him?" Mel asked Technis II.

"Don't worry, he's actually starting to calm down. If you're scared of this, don't watch him fight," Lizardon said in amusement. Heruseus was knocked out on the couch.

"What happened to this guy?" Chumbus asked.

"He insisted he carry all the heavy armor and weapons, so we let him," Osra told him.

"Yep, smart move, we didn't carry a single thing," Charles smiled. The tired look in his eyes faded away, and was replaced by hope and amusement.

"You guys go ahead and choose your stuff, we already got ours," Mel told them.

"Yeah, you guys go ahead, and when your done, meet in Brett's room," Charles told them as they left the room.

There was a large assortment of armor and weapons on the bed in Chumbus's room.

"There's so many weapons!" Executioner drooled.

"There's so much armor!" Lizardon's eyes glistened.

"Guys, that's gross, wipe your mouths," Technis II handed them each a napkin. They both wiped their saliva and then began to choose their things.

"We better hurry, I'm hungry," Chumbus told them.

Executioner chose a hooded cloak which didn't give him much defense, but it had high magic resistance. He grabbed *Warren's Axe and Blade, and also stuffed his pockets with throwing knives. Lizardon took an assortment of throwing knives that differed from speed to damage, and iron armor because he knew he would be targeted a lot. Technis II looked at a separate pile that Mel labeled for her. She took the double-time boots, which granted her speed to dodge attacks faster, and light armor to support the speed. She also took a new mending staff. Lastly, Chumbus dug through the pile and found a dragon stone, along with some beast armor, armor for his type of class.

"Damn, they really got the good stuff," Technis II twirled her foot around.

"Oh yeah! How did they find a dragon stone in the market?! I thought I was going to have hunt it down," Chumbus stared at the dragon stone which glistened in the dim lights.

"We better get going to Brett's, probably something important," Lizardon said as he left the room.

"Right," Executioner followed.

"Anyone hungry?" Brett asked. "I cooked this beef stew so we could have energy for tomorrow," Brett showed everyone gathered in his room a pot full of soup.

"There's so much food!" Technis II and Chumbus drooled.

"I also made some," Brett tried to speak, but Chumbus loudly interrupted him.

"Is that mochi?! How?!" Chumbus stared at his favorite simulated snack. He took a bite and his words blended together, "OhmygoshIloveyousomuch."

"Yeah, it took hours, but we had the whole day, so I found a substitute and made the delicious snack," Brett smiled brightly.

Heruseus immediately woke up and started eating. Everyone joined him once Brett took out more bowls.

"Where did you get all this food Brett?" Mel asked as she stuffed her face with everything besides mochi.

"I bought it earlier and cooked it up a couple of minutes ago. Don't ask why I could cook, my mother just made me cook with her a lot," Brett abashedly stated.

After Heruseus had finished, he went back to sleep without a word.

"That was really good Brett! Might be better than mine!" Mel patted him on the back.

"Aw, thanks Mel, although I bet I can a better country-fried steak!" Brett challenged her.

"No way! Mine is critical!" Mel crossed her arms and smiled.

"Nope! Mine is my signature!" Brett laughed, then Mel joined him soon after.

"Maybe next time," Mel laughed

"Thank you so much," Osra rubbed his belly. He was too full to hate Brett.

"I'm so stuffed," Chumbus groaned. Brett laughed, and put the rest of the mochi in the freezer. Everyone else went to sleep afterwards. Mel, Osra, and Heruseus finally had a good night's rest.

In the middle of the night, Mel began to scream, but Osra rushed in to calm her.

"Shh shh shh. It's okay, I have them too," Osra hushed her.

"Then please, stay here," She asked him. Osra stayed in her room the rest of the night, and so Mel rested peacefully.

After a couple of hours of "peaceful" dreams and sleep. Chumbus and Heruseus woke up first. The two goofballs were bored and decided to have a little fun. Chumbus pulled out a marker and Heruseus pulled out some whip cream.

"Ooh Osra, you bad boy, what are you doing in Mel's room? I wonder, what happened that Osra had to be in here," Chumbus giggled. He had a huge grin plastered across his face, as he looked at Osra who slept on the floor next to Mel's bed. Chumbus got out his marker and started draw on his face, which made Osra squirm a bit. Chumbus giggled again as he wrote 'Me is Idiot' on Osra's forehead.

"I could do better!" Heruseus whispered to Chumbus. Heruseus took out his whip cream and sprayed it all over Mel's arm and face. "Now give me the marker!" Heruseus said as he drew a mustache and a mole on her face. He tried not to laugh loudly. They crept over to Technis II, and drew a butt on her cheek, and put whip cream all over her chest. They nearly woke her up as she squinted her eyes, but fell asleep again.

Their next victims were Lizardon and Executioner. As Heruseus opened the door to Lizardon and Executioner's room, Executioner was already drawing on Lizardon's face. Executioner stared at the two in the doorway. He glared and shushed them.

"Hey! Come join us!" Heruseus whispered as loudly as he could. At that moment, the four stooges were nearly complete.

The three idiots made to Brett, David and Kameron's room.

"Wait wait wait!" Chumbus halted them. He went to the freezer and took the mochi and stuffed it in his bag. He gave a thumbs up and let them continue.

"Hey guys, watch this!" Executioner said with a grin. He then pulled out a fart bomb and lit it inside their room. He shut the door and told them, "Run! Run!" It popped, and then released the gas slowly. Pyrus got up from under the bed and joined them.

"Pyrus?" Executioner looked confused.

"What? I'm bored too, and I already drew on their faces," Pyrus giggled.

"Ehh, more the better," Chumbus shrugged.

Poor Rachel and P.G. got the worst of it. As Chumbus drew a piece of poop on Rachel's face, he muttered, "This is what you get for coming back at me in my arguments."

"Hey!" Pyrus drew attention to himself. He took out trip-wire and some silly string. "Can you do something with this Justin?" He asked him quietly.

"Oh definitely," Chumbus grinned devilishly.

While Chumbus set up a trap, Heruseus used the rest of his whip cream on P.G.. When he finished, all ten of Executioner's stink bombs were lit on accident due to a certain pyromaniac. They forgot about Keith and Kate because they were a floor above them.

All of them sprinted as fast as they could from P.G.'s room back to their rooms. Chumbus quickly drew on himself so he didn't look suspicious. They pretended to fall back asleep as everyone woke up.

"Oh my gods! Look at your face!" Mel laughed at Osra as she yawned.

"What about it? Oh! You should go look in a mirror too!" Osra laughed.

"Guys! Who did this to my face?!" Technis II screamed in the bathroom, which caused the two to laugh harder.

"Wait a minute…" They all paused. "CHUMBUS! HERUSEUS!" They all shouted at the same time.

" Looks like Executioner's still knocked out. Okay time to brush my, EVAN!" Lizardon shouted as he looked in the mirror.

Brett woke up and covered his nose, "Aw, that stanky!" He looked at Kameron and slapped his butt, which woke up him up.

"Bro! It wasn't me! David! Gross man!" Kameron threw his book at him.

"Hey!" David woke up. His face scrunched up once he inhaled, and glared at Brett. "Ew stinky!" They all ran for the door, but it was locked.

"Help! We can't breathe!" All three of them banged on the door. They all tried pushing, but it kept saying "Immortal Object", which meant they couldn't break the door down.

"Guys are you okay?" Osra opened the door, and the three bursted out like a rocket. David's face returned back to normal once he inhaled again. They all began coughing and Brett threw up. Osra looked in the room, and then his face shrunk.

Rachel woke up immediately once she smelled the air, and woke up P.G..

"Did you do this?" P.G. covered her nose and glared at her.

Rachel shook her head. She covered her nose with her gown.

"Aw this stinks! We gotta get out!" P.G. raced to the door, triggering the silly string trap.

"Wait!" Rachel told her. It was too late, she was already covered in purple string. She pointed at the window. P.G. nodded and helped her open it.

"Dang, that's a long jump," P.G. looked out the window, "you think we'll make it?"

"There!" Rachel pointed at a nearby patio. "We should aim there," Rachel jumped.

"Wait! Aren't you going to try the door?" P.G. shouted. Rachel landed on the patio, and rolled. She bursted through the unoccupied room and ran upstairs.

Rachel blamed everything on Osra and Chumbus not knowing Osra had matured a bit. Chumbus hasn't matured since he was twelve.

"Jersh! Justini! What did you do to my room?! Ah! What did you do to my face?!" Rachel shouted with anger.

"Calm down it wasn't them, it was that idiotic brother of mine," P.G. glared. She left to go find him.

"It wasn't me! It was Chumbus and Heruseus! They always do this! Look they'll be giggling and laughing once I open this door!" Osra opened the door to find the two were asleep. "Huh?! I would've sworn these guys did it! These two bozos did this in S.A.O.! Wait," Osra looked closer. "Chumbus is marked. Hey Heruseus! I know you're awake! Nice try, but you can't try the same thing twice!" He grabbed Heruseus and a marker fell out, along with an empty bottle of whip cream. "Ah-ha!" Osra pointed out!

Everyone besides Executioner, Lizardon, P.G., and Pyrus gathered around the room. They all glared directly towards Heruseus.

"Osra, I'm sorry!" Heruseus was interrupted.

"Are you serious?!" Osra slapped him. He yelled with anger, "What are you twelve?!"

"Yeah, out of ten," Heruseus laughed as he rubbed his cheek.

"Dude!" Osra stared him in the eye. "How old are you?" Osra held him up by his shirt.

"Fifteen," Heruseus looked to the side.

"Then if you want to be a leader, you need to act older than that!" Osra slapped him again. "If you don't want the responsibility of protecting them, then stand aside!" Osra set him down.

"But Justin did it too!" Heruseus pointed at Chumbus, who was still "asleep".

"Then why is he marked?" Mel stepped up, arms crossed.

"Yeah! Why you draw on meee?!" Chumbus got up.

Heruseus glared at him, "What the hell? You did it too!"

"Why would I draw on myself?" Chumbus argued.

Lizardon came into the room pushing Executioner. "We have another guilty one," He said as he walked in.

"Make that three," P.G. stepped in pushing her brother.

"What about David, Kameron, and Brett? They weren't marked either!" Rachel asked.

"Oh don't fret. We were definitely marked. Just with a more stinky fragrance." Kameron responded irritated.

"Aw man! You guys smell like crap!" Heruseus covered his nose. "Executioner why did you light so many?" Heruseus looked at him.

"Not my fault! Pyrus lit all of them!" Executioner giggled.

"Sorry," Pyrus laughed and P.G. kicked him.

"Thanks Heruseus, that's definitely what you tell a girl." P.G. sarcastically said.

"I hope you guys didn't get Keith and Kate. Keith will kill you!" Rachel warned.

"Oh that's who we forgot," Executioner mumbled.

"What's going on?" Kate asked as she entered the room. Keith entered with her.

"You guys are the lucky ones. All of us were just pranked by these three," Rachel told them.

"These two need to be punished! You guys have to, uh, oh! You guys can't fight on the front line when we go in until we're at least one-hundred yards in!" Osra stated.

"That's not fair! Justin did it too! Look!" Executioner pointed at the marker peeking out of Chumbus's pillow. Mel glared at Chumbus.

"Justin did do it!" Executioner said with stern for the first time.

"Yeah!" Pyrus joined them.

"Chumbus?" Brett stared him in the eyes, "Did you do it?"

"Nooo! Trust me! Theo put it there! It's not meeeee! He did it to frame meee!" Chumbus lied. He said in a ever so dramatic tone, "He knew I would be accused!"

"Justin, you lying son of a-" Heruseus was interrupted as Osra shoved him out the door.

"Alright then, everybody, go wash up. Get ready to leave. It's time to get serious!" Mel said as she shoved Heruseus.

"Hey! I can be a leader too!" Heruseus glared at Osra as he got up. He was angry now.

"Why don't you prove it," Osra put on his armor, and grabbed his sword. He pointed it at him, "Beat me."

Everyone except Mel gathered outside. Armor ready, they waited for Heruseus, as a message appeared in front of Osra.

 **~ Heruseus challenges you to a duel! Do you accept? ~**

 **Yes** **No**

"Oh I see," Osra cracked his neck. He turned around and glared.

Heruseus came out in his lightest armor. His tome was tied to his side, and he glared straight at Osra. He grabbed the hilt of his sword and asked, "Well, do you accept? Leader?"

"You brought this upon yourself!" Osra checked the rules and smirked. He tapped accept and the duel commenced, allowing weapons to be used in the rest point.

Everyone watched in dead silence. Osra quickly ran up to him, which Heruseus stood stunned.

"You got faster Osra," Heruseus grinned, "but I'm still faster." Heruseus let out a streak of speed and zoomed past him. He grinned, "You were always too slow, and your defence never stood up to how tough you act." He sheathed his sword.

"You talk too much," Osra got up. "Don't count your chickens before they hatched, you didn't get through my defence, I blocked it," Osra sheathed his sword and untied his tome. He shot the water directly towards him.

Heruseus replied with his lighting. The lighting crept up the water, creeping towards him. Osra jumped directly into the air, avoiding the electric blast.

"There's no hope for you!" He shouted as he landed. He readied his finishing move.

"Checkmate!" Heruseus charged his blade, getting ready to finish things.

Mel ran out of the hotel, and ran to the middle of the playing field. "Stop!" Mel held her hands out. "What the heck is wrong with you two?" She said angry, and worried. "I checked the settings! Really? 'To the Death'? Are you guys that stupid?!" Tears filled her eyes. "Just stop!" She glared at the both of them.

"Mel," Osra stopped. He ran up to Mel and hugged her, "I'm sorry, I let my anger get a hold of me. It could've gotten us killed, I can't let that happen again."

"Sorry," Heruseus stopped too. Heruseus ended the match. "We should just stay, everyone's nervous, and Halloween is tomorrow, so," Heruseus said.

"That's a great plan," Osra turned around and hugged him too. Everyone gave a sigh of relief, but that didn't stop them from going in two days later.


	6. Chapter 6: Night of the Dead Teammates

**Chapter 6: Night of the Dead Teammates**

 _As Osra's favorite holiday approached, the group tried to celebrate the holiday, spending the whole day collecting every Halloween item the game would give out. Even the town had been halloweenified. The place was lit with jack-o-lanterns now instead of normal_

 _lanterns. There was blood everywhere as decoration. There were even zombies inside the maze as a special enemy. They gave out double experience points unlike any enemy in the game. Many also spent hours in the maze, leveling up to get stronger. Lastly, on the day of Halloween itself, a special event would appear within a forest._

 _An event inside a forest? There isn't even a forest on the map._ Osra thought to himself. _What will the event be about? I can't wait see!_ Osra was with Mel and Heruseus at the moment fighting zombies at the farming spot Chumbus and his group had found. He was nearly slashed on his back until a zombie had been beheaded by Heruseus "Keep your head up Osra," Heruseus warned him.

"Huh?" Osra ducked and then slashed a zombie. He quickly turned around to disarm a Fallen soldier. He stabbed the soldier's chest.

"No day-dreaming here! The zombies are getting stronger!" Mel shouted as she healed him.

"It's getting dark! We should back off before the overwhelm us!" Osra shouted over the clinking of his sword meeting the Fallen's and groaning of the zombies.

"Great idea," Heruseus tripped. A zombie waddled over to him, and began his attack. Osra sliced his head and said, "There, we're even now." He smiled as he picked him up. Mel healed him and gained another level.

"Yes! Finally! I'm level thirty!" She jumped with delight. She finally unlocked the ability to master any weapon.

"What is it?" Osra asked.

"I can fight back," Mel said with determination.

The three retreated back from where they came. As they entered the hotel they were staying at, Chumbus scared them in his beast form. Startled, Osra nearly cut off his head.

"Whoa whoa whoa! Okay okay! I'm sorry!" He squealed.

"Don't do that!" Osra screamed.

"Don't you find it weird you guys can use your weapons here? I mean you guys could use them inside a rest point?" Mel questioned.

"They've been letting us do that since the start of today!" Heruseus said.

"Yeah but don't you find that a little strange?" She asked again.

"I guess we'll find out tomorrow. Let's get some rest. It's been a fun day," Osra told them.

During the night, the invisible force field that kept the monsters in the maze from entering the rest point disappeared. It was at the time of ten as the zombies, Fallen, and spiders entered the rest point. West of town, appeared a forest. A forest with a delicate surprise. A Fallen unit approached the hotel our heroes were stored in. The shriek of the NPC awoke everyone quickly grabbing their weapons. The Fallen were now overpowered due to the time being night, and pitch-black.

"What the heck? Why is there Fallen here?" Lizardon yawned.

"Either way, we have to fight!" Executioner said with joy as he grabbed the hilt of his axe and charged at the enemy. Keith charged in arrogance with him.

"Evan! Keith! Wait!" Charles shouted. Executioner's body was flung across the lobby and crashed a table. His health was depleting fast.

"Technis II, go heal him! Hurry!" Heruseus told her. Keith was no where to be found. "Lizardon, go help Beth heal him!" Heruseus ordered.

"Where did Keith go?!" Kate shrieked. Kate hid behind Heruseus. "Osra go defend the two! Osra? Where did you go?" Heruseus looked around. He flipped a table over and hid behind it. He told Kate, "Calm down. This isn't the right time to shut down, okay? I know you're tired, and I know you're worried about your friend, but you need to help now, and worry later." Kate stood up from the barrier and zapped an enemy with her tome.

"Right," she came back down.

"Brett!" Mel ran over to him, "hey, do you still have the weapons we all bought?"

"Yeah, I know why you're asking, so I got this for you in fact," Brett handed her a wrapped sword.

"How?" Mel unwrapped the sword carefully. It was a legendary sword that granted thunder waves when commanded. "No way! Thank you! I'm so happy I can kiss you right now!" She hugged Brett and ran off. Brett smirked and ran to find his sword.

"Special delivery!" Mel dashed up to a zombie and sliced it to bits. "Oh this feeling feels so nostalgic," she smiled. She jumped on the bed, and did a backflip over a soldier, and boomed her back with a thunder wave. She didn't take damage, but she fell back, paralyzed from the shock. Mel took off her head with a single slice. She looked to the door and raced downstairs where everyone was holding off a horde. "It's been lovely," She said as she leaped into the air, and aimed for the sea of enemies. She shot down and dug her sword in the ground and released the thunder wave. The wave shook the whole floor with devastating power, and killed any enemy within a thirty foot radius. She jumped back to where she was before, and smiled.

Osra was knocked outside while fighting a zombie. He saw the forest appear.

"Guys! There's a forest over there! Kill these Fallen and barricade the doors!" Osra screamed.

The fallen moved swiftly, and as if they were fully trained by a grandmaster of combat. By the time The Hearts of Light had gotten rid of the Fallen in the building, people had some major injuries. Kameron was gravely injured with a slash mark on his neck. He needed immediate attention. Brett's arm was hanging on by some skin. Executioner had five holes inside his body along with six broken bones. He also needed immediate attention. Keith was still missing, but not dead. Kate was breaking down thinking Keith died. David was fine along with Rachel. The healers were alright since they had complete cover since they had to heal Executioner. Chumbus, Heruseus, Charles, and Osra were unharmed.

"Lizardon, how long do you think it'll take to heal them?" Osra asked.

"Hmm. Kameron and Brett will take the longest, and Executioner is just about done, he just needs some stitching. Everyone else should be fine by morning," He replied.

Kate spoke up, "I-I-I'm a Valkyrie too. I can help."

"Ugh, I feel terrible," Executioner groaned.

"We only need two healers, and time will do the rest," Lizardon shrugged.

"Great! I spotted the forest not far from here, and there's a possibility Keith is there! I want Lizardon and Kate to stay here and heal everyone. Pyrus, P.G., Rachel, and David need to stay here and defend in case of any more attacks. Mel, Chumbus, Charles, Technis II, and Heruseus come with me," Osra planned. "Any questions?" He asked. "Great, let's go," he said as he got ready to leave. Mel walked over to Brett and kissed him on the forehead.

"Hey! We need some help! Anyone please!" A voice shouted behind the barricade.

"Why should we let you guys in? You guys can be red players who are using this as an advantage!" Heruseus shouted.

"What the hell is that? Please let us in! We have wounded! I'm not even a gamer!" The voice replied.

"Wait," Osra told him. He spoke, "Adam Wakoli is that you?"

"Josh?" The voice asked.

"No-way what are you doing in this game?!" Osra said, full of shock.

"Bruh! We're dying out here!" Adam screamed.

"Hurry, let them in! Guys, we need to help them!" Osra removed a table, and opened the door. "Hurry! Get inside, I'll cover you!" Osra ran outside and hacked away at enemies while seven people ran inside.

"Max is still out there! His leg is hurt badly!" One of the boys shouted. He had a ginger, bowl hair-cut and a lot of freckles.

"Technis II, Lizardon heal them! I'm going to find Max!" Osra ran around the building.

"Wait are you okay to go alone?" A girl with olive skin and long brown hair shouted.

"Don't worry Taylor, he can handle himself," Heruseus told her. He ran out side to prevent enemies from coming in.

"Max?! Where are you Havens?!" Osra shouted.

"No-way! Josh! Help! I'm over here! My leg!" Max said as he slashed at a Fallen unit.

"It's so great to see you! I haven't seen you for what? Two years? Lemme help you out," Osra grabbed him and helped him back to the barricaded hotel. "Wow, this is the only time I'm faster than you," Osra laughed.

"This isn't the time!"

"No way," Osra dropped him.

"Ow what the heck?" Max screamed.

"Is that Herzog and Jack?" Osra stood paralyzed.

"They're alive?!" Max asked in shock.

"No, they're Fallen," Osra walked over two a skinny boy with brown hair. He held a sword and swung at him. Osra disarmed him and moved on to the bigger fellow who had blond eyes, and held a hammer. Jack tried to smash him, but Osra swiftly disarmed him too. He stared at the two of his previous friends that were in choir with him before everything began. They walked slowly towards him, soulless and blue. "I'm sorry guys," Osra muttered as he slashed the two into two. He returned to Max and helped him up again.

"About time," Max muttered.

"Shush, do you want me to drop you again?" Osra said as he carried him back to the entrance. As they arrived, Technis II gained the ability to wield a weapon. She took a simple thunder tome from the armory.

"Thank God you guys saved us!" Adam praised.

"What happened to Max and Jack?" Taylor asked.

"They didn't make it," Max looked down.

"May Max Herzog and Jack Sennett rest in piece," The ginger said.

"Damn it! I should've stayed with them! I've played something like this before!" A large fellow said. He had black hair and carried a large hammer like Jack.

"So, Osra would you like to introduce us?" Technis II asked.

"Well, you already know Adam," Osra pointed at a dark boy with a shaved, black haircut. "That's Maximus Havens," Osra pointed at a fairly skinny kid, but had some leg muscle in him. He had light skin, along with a slit-back, black hair style a greaser would have. "Over there is Thomas Shaner, and Taylor Jimenez," He pointed to the ginger and Taylor. "That is Nathan Steedly and Gary Longmen," He pointed to a very skinny boy with a dirty-blond hair style, and the large fellow with the axe. "Lastly, those two are Jordan and Nilesh, I couldn't remember their last names," He pointed towards a pale, skinny boy with hair similar to Max, but brown, and a tall skinny kid with combed back black hair. "They're all friends of mine before the _Sword Art Online_ incident," Osra smiled.

"Nice to meet you guys!" Technis II waved.

"Hey," Executioner groaned.

"We better get going," Mel told him.

"Alright, we need to save a guild-mate, and we're running out of time," Osra told them.

"Wait! Let Thomas and I join you, Tim was abducted too," Adam told them.

"Alright, the more the merrier!" Charles smiled. Adam did a move called "The Whip" and grabbed his axe.

"Let's go!" Thomas said as he whipped too.

The eight rushed into the forest to find the enemies have disappeared. A very bright light had appeared. Heruseus and the others ran to see it was the middle of the forest, but there were no trees in the area creating a giant circle. It was very well lit with light, and as soon as the light disappeared the light still remained bright with the help of the jack-o-lanterns around the circle. Eight ghostly auras appeared in the middle. Each one of the four started to cry as they realized it was the ghosts of their friends that died in S.A.O., their family. Adam and Thomas watched quietly.

Heruseus approached a rather short ghost and a tall slim one. "Jamie? Stephanie? Is that really you?" Heruseus asked. The two just looked at him and smiled. "I'm sorry... I couldn't save you! I couldn't do anything! I'm so sorry!" Heruseus welled. The chubby one that was known as Jamie put his hand on Heruseus shoulder.

"It's okay, it isn't your" Stephanie mouthed. Heruseus cried harder.

Osra slowly walked in front of a tall, black-haired boy and a short, messy haired boy who looked like he belonged in a modeling magazine. "Hey Gerry. Hi Ryel," he tried to keep calm. "I miss you guys. I miss our stupid conversations about farts and Smash. I miss the way you guys lifted up my spirits when I was feeling down. I miss the stupid arguments we had when we played all kinds of games," Tears began to spring out of his eyes. "I've managed to hang on to the cold reality of life. I'm sorry I couldn't make it in time. There wasn't enough hope. I love you guys so much," Osra cried.

Mel stared into the white eyes of her friend. She then stared into the eyes of her best friend. "I'm happy you guys got to die together. Both of you really did love each other as brothers. It made it easier for you two, but harder for me to let go of the fact you guys are gone. I never got to say thank you for giving your lives for me. I'll never forget you Jason and Monty," Mel managed to get out of her mouth. She just became teary-eyed and stared at them. The two spirits put their arms around her, hugging her.

Chumbus approached his two brothers, Tony and Alex, who had also sacrificed themselves for him. Chumbus just stared in tears. "T-Thank you... I'm sorry I was too stupid to move. If I hadn't moved, you two would have been alive right here and now. Now look, I'm the one running off while you two pay for my mistake. I'm sorry brothers. I'll never get to pay you guys back," The two nodded and smiled while they put their hands on Chumbus's shoulders.

"Hi Gracie, hi Axel. I miss you guys so much. I'm sorry it all happened, if only I was there. I'm so sorry," Charles bawled as he spoke to a short girl with puffy hair and a tall boy with straight black hair. Tears sprung out like a fountain. He didn't have much to say, and stood breath taken.

"Watch over them Austin, you're strong enough to make it through," Gracie mouthed.

"I will Gracie, I promise," Charles wiped his tears away and smiled.

Technis II simply smiled at the sight of Anthony and Clayton. She cried, but didn't say a single word. She stared into the white eyes of the tall Hispanic boy that used to be her boyfriend, and the boy with a purple streak in his hair.

"I love you," Anthony mouthed.

"I love you too," Technis II smiled.

"You can make it Beth," Clayton mouthed. "You're strong enough, so act like it!" Clayton raised his translucent fist into the air. Technis II wiped her tears and raised her fist too.

To ruin the moment, Fallen entered the circle and the circle rose into the air. The ghostly friends drew their weapons. The eight backed up and drew theirs. _This is the event. Fighting with lost ones._ Osra realized.

"Hey Osra, this just like old times! We have the original guild back together! It feels nice to fight alongside everyone again," Mel told him.

"It does feel nice," Osra replied.

The ghosts were faster and stronger. As if dying made them stronger. After a while, a boss appeared in the middle of the stage.

"What is that?!" Adam screamed. He pointed at the boss which looked like a giant Fallen unit. He had long hair that covered a giant green spot.

"Welcome! Now, you probably noticed one of your people have disappeared." _Keith_. Chumbus remembered he suddenly left. "Well he or she is right here," The giant boss had opened up a bubble that had a frozen Keith and Tim inside. "Defeat me and you get your player back, and a special surprise if no-one dies." He boomed.

"Yo! Give back Tim! Or you're gonna pay!" Adam boomed back.

"Fight for him then," Osra smiled.

Heruseus and his group ran behind the giant, while Mel's and Osra's group distracted him. Chumbus's group started to climb the giant and scratched the green spot on the giant's back. The giant screeched and fell on his chest. Everyone then started to attack the weak point. The giant struggled to get up. He slammed Gerry near the side of the edge. The fall would kill him. Osra sprinted over to him and picked him up.

"I can't let you die bro, not again," He told him. The old Hearts of Light did the same tactic over and over again until the boss had a very low heath bar left.

"Give us back Tim!" Thomas screeched. He jumped off Adam's back and stabbed him in the green spot. He did the whip again as the boss faded away.

This boss was nothing against anything in S.A.O. All the ghosts turned into small stones, and a message appeared in front of them.

' _ **Congratulations! You completed the event!'**_

 _ **As a reward you get the stones as allies. Call them into battle but be careful. Once called the stones break and the programs of your close one shall leave the**_ _**program**_ **.** _ **To those without a stone will receive 100,000 gold.**_

"Sweet! We have the gang back!" Heruseus gladly stated. The circle landed. It was night time again. Except all the enemies were gone. "Whoa, where are all the Fallen and zombies? In fact, where did a whole forest go?!" Heruseus said confused.

"Check the date," Osra told him.

"Wha-What happened?" Keith unfroze and asked.

"Wow, it's November 1st!" Heruseus shouted.

"Don't worry about it Keith, let's just get back to the hotel." Osra told him.

When the five returned to the hotel, the were tackled by everyone fully healed and in tears.

"We thought you guys died!" Executioner told them.

"Keith!" Kate shrieked.

"Kate! What happened?" Keith asked.

"I'll explain later! Thank the gods you're alive! You're ALL alive!" She replied.

"Tim!" The other group yelled. They all jumped on him, and explained what had happened.

"What happened?" Lizardon asked.

"Something that will come in handy later," Replied Osra.

"Well I'm glad you guys are just safe and sound," Lizardon spoke.

They spent the day celebrating. Everyone rested for the next day was the day everyone will enter the maze.


	7. Chapter 7: A Chink in Our Armor

**Chapter 7: A Chink in Our Armor**

Everyone from Chumbus to Keith struggled and stalled to get into their armor. Even Brett and his old group seemed nervous to go into the maze. They know they've done it before, but that was just one spot of the whole entire maze. Who knows what's ahead of them. It was like fog on a road.

"We can do this guys!" Heruseus spoke up. "We won't die there. Look, all our families are waiting patiently for us to jump into their arms. I don't think any of us want to make them wait any longer. We all long for the day we break out of this mess, so why not make it today?" Heruseus rose his fist, "We will prevail!"

"Well spoken," Osra smiled and nodded his head. Osra moved next to him and spoke, "Yes Heruseus is right! We all must live on! For the ones who have fallen, for the ones who have lived! For the ones we call ourselves!" Osra raised his fist too, and everyone joined them.

"We will get through this!" Tim shouted.

"Everyone," Chumbus spoke up, "I have groups for everyone, stay in these formations, and we'll be unstoppable!" Chumbus shouted, which made the group even more rowdy. "Group A, Tim, Adam, Max, and Steedly! Tim, since you are healer, you need to act like it. Make sure your team's health comes before yours," Chumbus nodded at Tim, and he smiled and nodded back. "Group B, Taylor, Nilesh, Gary, and Jordan. Taylor, I hope you know what to do. Group C, Brett, Kameron, Rachel, and Lizardon. Lizardon," Chumbus nodded.

"Right," Lizardon checked all his stuff.

"Group D, me, Heruseus, Osra, and Mel. Group E, Keith, Kate, Charles, and Pyrus. Lastly, group F, P.G., Technis II, Thomas, Executioner. Okay everyone let's stomp this thing to the ground!" Chumbus clapped his hands and made a heart with his hands and rose it to his left eye. "The Hearts of Light never dies!" He shouted as everyone joined him.

"Chumbus had a dream," Osra spoke up, "that we were all pinned down, Chumbus had a dream we all died. Chumbus had a dream there was no hope in sight. I'm going to tell you all something right now." Osra raised his fist, "We will prevail! We will never die because hope never fades away! We take down every opposing thing we see. No-one get's left behind!"

Cheers rained down from the small guild. They grouped up into their groups and Mel screamed, "Okay, Group A, you'll take left side, while B takes right. We, will take the back and cover whatever get's past you guys. Group F will take the middle, our main assault. Groups E and C, I want the both of you to act as the defenses, run around and help anyone who needs support," Mel put a heart over her left eye and smiled. "We can make it," She took out her sword and sharpened the tip.

"Let's go!" Lizardon screamed as they all charged in, beaming with confidence.

The Hearts of Light blew through the maze like it was nothing. In the beginning. The groups that Chumbus had formed were well balanced with medics all around. They slayed everything in sight, from spiders to large bugs.

Charles did a backflip over Pyrus to get to P.G. Spiders had surrounded the entire group, bearing their fangs.

"Kyls watch yourself!" Charles screamed as he blocked off a stream of poison.

"Thanks, but I didn't need it," P.G. leaped into the air, using Charles as support. "Feel the heat!" P.G. shouted as she shot fire from above. She landed and did a back hand spring. She switched her fire tome to a vine tome. "Don't get too tangled," She laughed as her vines snapped away the spiders' web and along with their tiny necks. "Your fate as come!" She brought out both her tomes and did something no-one else could do. She put both away and sat down. "Burning Vineyard!" She screamed as burnt vines covered in flames surfaced to wipe away all of the spiders surrounding them.

"No you did not," Charles muttered,

"What is that?" Max pointed at an oversized Fallen soldier.

"Guild leaders. Otherwise, Captains," Heruseus muttered.

"N-No way," Chumbus backed up. The Captain turned around and stared at him with his pure black eyes.

"That can't be him," Technis II's eyes widened.

"Who?" Mel raised her eyebrow.

"Meric, the guild leader of the guild we let pass us," Chumbus told everyone with telepathy.

"Mer-who?" Heruseus shook his head, and ran up to Fallen Meric. He dodged a heavy hit, and impaled it in the chest. He laughed as he backed up, but Fallen Meric didn't even pause. He slapped him against the wall, knocking him unconscious while turning his health red.

"Theo!" Chumbus ran and picked up Heruseus. "Mel heal him! Josh and I will stall Meric," Chumbus nodded towards Osra, and they both sprinted towards the big foe. Chumbus transformed into his beast form and pounced on top of it, hoping to stun it. Chumbus whimpered like a dog once he was picked up and thrown down to the ground. Osra used that as a distraction as he leaped behind him. Fallen Meric turned around and kicked him through a wall.

"Damn," Osra spat virtual blood, "these things are tough. Other groups are you guys okay?"

"Group A fine!" Adam shouted.

"Group B is A-Okay!" Jordan shouted as he flipped over a Fallen soldier.

"Group C is partially injured, but we'll be fine!" Lizardon shouted as he healed Brett's arm.

"Group E is doing great!" Pyrus shouted.

"Group F is helping out!" Technis II said as she healed Heruseus.

"Great, let's stay that way," Osra stood up and turned around. He stared at the dead end, which triggered the floor to open slowly. Below, were enough spikes to kill anyone. "Whoa, no dead ends please," Osra turned around again to see Fallen Meric kick him into the broken hall way. Osra landed against the wall, and held on by a piece of the floor that was closing in quickly. "I need a bit of help here!" Osra shouted as his ledge grew shorter and shorter. Osra lost his grip and began to fall.

"Don't die on me!" Lizardon screamed and used his recover staff. He teleported Osra back to him.

"Whoa, that's trippy," Osra rubbed his head. He looked back at Lizardon and said, "Thanks, I won't."

"Osra, are you okay?" Chumbus asked him with his telepathy.

"I'm fine, where's Meric?" Osra asked.

"Pushed him in the hole," Chumbus muttered.

"He's taken care of," Osra rolled his shoulders, and equipped his water tome, Raging Waves.

The Captains were slow, so The Hearts ran past them, not wanting to deal with them. Chumbus carried Heruseus on his back while they ran, and they ran until a wall of Captains blocked their path. Chumbus put down Heruseus and got ready to attack until he realized the captains they passed built up behind them, and created a wall there too.

"Crap, what do we do?" P.G. looked worried.

"There's too many, we can't manage all of them," Executioner readied his axe.

"We hold out guys, we can make it," Osra said as he blasted a Captain with water.

"Lizadon, Executioner! Get out of there!" Charles screamed as the wall blasted away behind them. Huge chunks of debris landed all around the small battle field. A rock rushed towards Jordan, and pinned him against a wall. He spat blood as Gary lifted the rubble off him.

"This really hurts!" Executioner muttered, half his body covered in debris.

"We're on our way!" Heruseus shouted as he, Osra, and Charles ran over to them. Osra tried lifting some rubble off, but it was too heavy.

"Osra hurry! Enemies closing in!" Charles said as he shot a soldier with an arrow.

"I'm trying," Osra lifted as much as he could. A Captain knocked back Heruseus, dropping his weapon. The Captain put a rock over it and looked at Heruseus with no expression whatsoever. Charles went to go defend him, but he was disarmed by a Fallen Bishop. The Bishop healed the Captain, and they began to target Osra.

"Osra we have to go!" Charles said as he ran to cover with Heruseus.

"Shoot, my tome and sword!" Osra said as he quickly dodged a flying knife. His weapons dropped right besides the Captain. "Their health is dropping like no tomorrow! Mel can you?" Osra looked back and his eyes widened. He ran over to her as fast as he could and pushed the Captain over.

"They're getting smarter," Mel said, disarmed as well.

"Guys a little help?" Technis II muttered as she rolled in circles, evading hits.

"This can't be happening," Chumbus muttered. Tears shortly followed.

"Justin calm down," Osra shouted. "you can get us out of this."

"Go help Luke and Evan first, your beast form might be able to lift the rocks," Mel shouted.

"We need our weapons!" Heruseus shouted.

Chumbus breathed in and out, "Group A and B go help Lizardon and Evan while I cover you! The rest of Group C, go cover Group D, while Group E get their weapons! Group F help Technis II!"

"There's my Chumbus," Osra smiled.

"Thomas watch your back!" Chumbus thought while flipping over him and beheading a Fallen Soldier with his claws.

"Thanks dude," Thomas smiled.

"On three, one, two, three!" Adam grunted as he, Gary, and Max lifted the rubble off Executioner and Lizardon.

"Tim, Taylor! They need serious healing!" Max shouted, as he checked their status.

"We're on it!" Taylor shouted as she backflipped off a Captain and landed next to him.

"Boy, don't tell me what to do," Tim stated as he shot an arrow upside down into a Captain's skull. "Aww yeah!" Tim hit that whip and ran over to Executioner. "You'll be okay, guys cover us!" Tim shouted as he took out his healing tome.

"What do you think we're doing?" Max laughed.

"Yo! Steedly watch out!" Adam said as he tackled Steedly out of the way of a hard attack.

"Adam you idiot!" Steedly looked back, petrified. He watched as the hammer continued to come down. Each second inching closer to Adam as he stood there in fear. He couldn't move, so he just stared at the incoming giant hammer.

"Not on my watch," Max muttered as he stabbed the Captain and shoved it over, causing it to lose its balance. The hammer fell with him, falling on his head.

"Whoa man," Adam muttered. "I-I could've died," Adam stuttered.

"Only this once, don't do that again," Max glared at him.

"Yo," Adam looked at him, "Thanks man."

"No problem dude," Max smiled. Out of nowhere a Captain emerged from the shadows behind him, and had already began his attack. Is was already too late for Adam to notice, and he just stood there, helpless to do anything. No, not helpless, but too slow to do anything, for the attack had already commenced.

"Max behind you!" Osra screamed once he got Raging Waves back. He spun around and shot a quick beam of water towards the enemy, but it missed by a millimeter. He watched Tim fire an arrow, but didn't do anything as well for the large sword continued down its path.

"Alright, Evan's healed!" Tim turned around, shocked. He watched as the enemy began his attack. Tim pulled his bow and arrow out as fast as he could, and aimed down the sword. He released the arrow, but the sword had already reached half-way. The arrow grazed the side of the sword, and didn't do anything, but shift the weight to the front, making it faster.

The giant sword split max into two down the middle. He remains faded away as a broken note played aloud. Adam's eyes flooded with tears, and then rage. He glared at the Captain, who looked at him emotionless.

"You've done it now pal," Adam muttered as he tackled the Captain. He grabbed his giant sword and stuck it in his head. "Rest in peace buddy," Adam wiped away his tears and continued the fight.

When a piece of support is removed, the building comes crashing down.

"N-No, I can't," Gary stared into the lost, black eyes of Fallen Max. Max slashed away at Gary with no mercy. Gary faded while another note rang. Jordan's eyes widened as he turned around. He forced himself to slay Fallen Max. He ran ahead, and Fallen Gary rose in front of him. Before he could react, Fallen Gary smashed him like a lemon.

"Gary! Jordan!" Adam screamed.

"We need to leave," Tim told Chumbus, "now!"

"Where can we go? There isn't any openings! They just keep spawning!" Chumbus growled.

"Kameron!" Brett shouted over the clinking. He tried dashing to his best friend's aid, but was too late, for the giant lance had impaled him. Brett cried, tears full of anger and quickly returned the favor to the Captain. He knelt down to Kameron and picked him up, "Lizardon! Mel! Someone come over here quickly!"

Kameron smiled weakly, "Hey, it's fine. Keep moving on, you can get through this."

"Healing Arrow!" Brett screamed. The green arrow glowed as he tried to stab him.

"No, it's a waste, my health will fall anyway," Kameron pushed the arrow away. He smiled once more, blood seeping through his lips, "You were always my brother, not my friend." He faded away as another note rang.

"Please," Brett cried, "don't leave me." Captains surrounded him, ready to finish him off. Brett looked up with determination, "No." Brett reflected an incoming attack, and shouted to the group, "There's a light in the hole the bursted open! Hurry! The majority of the Captains' attention is on me right now!"

"We can't just leave you behind!" Osra shouted.

"Don't worry! I can manage myself, but you guys need to go!" Brett shouted as he went another direction.

"I'll be back for you! I promise!" Osra shouted as he motioned everyone towards the light.

"I'll see you guys around," Brett gave a final smirk and ran off with a dozen Captains behind him.

"Brett wait!" Mel shouted.

"Mel, we can't follow him," Osra stared at her, tears already streaming.

"You said no-one left behind!" Mel glared. Osra couldn't speak. He just simply shook his head and hugged her. She cried into his chest and muttered, "I understand."

The light Brett spoke about was the one and only Calm Room. There stood a cabin with two floors, along with twelve rooms in total. Right behind it, was a large lake with crystal clear water, and a pier, but no boat. Nine Last Chance skills awaited them inside the cabin.

"Take it for your group Josh, we don't need them," Adam shook his head in sorrow.

"Thanks dude, we appreciate it," Osra muttered.

"Where are you going?" Chumbus asked as he opened the screen door to the cabin.

"I'm going to talk to Mel, we'll be at the lake," Osra told him.

"Alright, well, Heruseus, Technis II, Charles, P.G., Pyrus, Executioner, Lizardon, and I already took a skill, but here's mine, I'll just grab the last one," Chumbus handed him a floating orb. Osra put it in his inventory before learning it.

"Thanks," Osra smiled weakly.

"Hey," Osra sat down besides Mel. "Look, I know things are getting hard, so that's why we need to stick together and get through this. As a team," Osra was interrupted.

Mel glared at him and shoved him away, "Why do you always talk to me like that?"

"Hmm?" Osra stood up.

"Like a child," Mel looked to the side, "I'm not some little girl you have to protect you know."

"Then at least take the skill, I don't know what I would do without," Mel got up and pushed Osra into the water.

"Me? Are you saying I can't protect myself? You think I become your damsel in distress just because you have feelings? Then fine, I'll take the damn skill, just leave Osra," Mel received the skill and Osra got up and left. He slowly wandered upstairs and lied down.

 _She called me by my username, she never does that._ He thought silently.

"Hey, is Osra okay?" Technis II asked as he covered his face.

"I honestly don't know anything anymore," Chumbus sighed. Technis II leaned over and quietly sent Osra her skill. She grinned as she went to the lake to talk to her sister.

"Hey are you okay?" Technis II asked as she sat down.

"No," Mel sighed, "I lost my temper in front of Josh, and Brett's gone, I just, ugh," Mel began to cry, "I could've healed Max before he died, this could've went another way! Are we ever going to get out of this mess?"

"It's okay to cry. It's okay to be sad about it. It's okay to miss them, and it's okay to wish you did something differently, but never blame yourself for how things turned out when the situation was out of your hands. Look, fate has a time and place for us all, and nothing you do or say is going to change that. It's okay to fall down, but it's not okay to stay down. Never forget how far you've gotten. Never forget everything you've gotten through. Never forget all the times you pushed on when you thought you couldn't, and never forget the strength you learned and developed. I love you sis, and we can make it through this," Technis II smiled.

"Thanks, but I'll just stay here for a bit more," Mel muttered.

"Alright come in soon, it's actually getting cold out here," Technis II got up and rubbed her back.

Later in the evening, Osra got up quietly and snuck outside. He put a blanket over Mel and whispered, "I'll be back, don't worry." He got up, battle ready, and thought _Everyone need Brett back, so I'll be the one to bring him home. If she's happy, I'm happy._

"Where are you going?" Steedly asked, in armor too.

"A night walk?" Osra smiled.

"Yeah, I'm coming with you," Steedly spun his sword around and sheathed it.

"No you are not," Osra glared.

"Then I'll wake the group," Steedly grinned.

"Fine, but you better keep up," Osra grunted as he ran off into the maze.

"Same to you," Steedly grinned as he caught up with him.


	8. Chapter 8: Unhealed Wounds

**Author's Note: I'll be uploading 2 chapters a week- Wednesday and Friday. That's why 7 went up on Wed. Thanks for reading, and enjoy.**

* * *

 **Chapter 8: Unhealed Wounds**

Crippled, the Hearts of Light woke up heartless.

"Guys," Lizardon woke everyone up. "Oswald's not here," Lizardon said with panic.

"His stuff is gone, and he left the party," Lizardon checked the party list.

"Calm down, he might be with Melody right now," Technis II rubbed her eyes.

"What now?" Mel said as she walked up the stairs. "I fell asleep by the lake, who gave

me the blanket?" She cracked her neck and looked around at the puzzled faces. "Oh no," she ran back downstairs.

"Mel wait!" Charles got up.

"Hey is Steedly up there with you guys?" Taylor asked.

"No, why?" Charles asked.

Everyone sped outside to look for the two who went missing.

"I heard someone whisper to not worry," Mel explained, "I think they both went back into the maze to find Brett."

"No, they aren't that dumb," Heruseus yawned.

"Yeah, it's Osra we're talking about, he isn't that reckless," Chumbus paused, and then realized the only other time he nearly killed himself was for Mel. "Damn it he did," Chumbus growled. He grabbed his dragon stone.

"Wait, where do you think you're going?" Executioner asked. He grabbed his shoulder.

"I'm going in to find my best friend, where else do you think I'm going?" Chumbus glared at him.

"Not alone you aren't," Heruseus grabbed his tome and quickly put on his armor.

"No, none of you are going!" Mel stammered. Everyone looked at her in shock.

"Why not?" Chumbus growled.

"Look, I know we all ant to go after them, but it's going to get us all killed, we need to stay here, and just check the perimeter every few hours," Mel said.

"That actually sounds like a good plan," Technis II agreed.

"Of course you agree, she's your sister!" Executioner mumbled.

"That has nothing to do with this," Technis II said.

"But if we stay, then we are open to anyone who finds this sacred room to kill us," Chumbus argued.

"He also has a point. What if a red guild comes in and takes everything?" Heruseus brought up.

"That's partially why we check the perimeter," Mel rolled her eyes.

"Let's vote," Lizardon stood up. Everyone followed him. "If you want to stay, sit down," Lizardon said as he sat down. Mel and Technis II sat down. Charles sat down, along with all of Adam's group. Rachel sat down, but Keith and Kate stood up. Chumbus, Heruseus and Executioner stood up.

"Fine, we'll stay, but if they aren't back by tomorrow morning, we're leaving," Heruseus put down his tome.

"Theo! We can't just sit around and wait for him to come back, that's nonsense!" Chumbus persisted.

"Don't worry, only hope can help him now," Heruseus kept his armor on, and walked outside to take the first perimeter check.

"Steedly watch your back!" Osra said as he jumped over him and blasted a captain to pieces.

"Damn dude! How strong is that thing?" Steedly laughed.

"What? Oh Raging Waves? Only about a hundred thousand psi!" Osra laughed as they walked.

"How can you handle all of that power?" Steedly asked.

"This game is weird. We need bandages to heal ourselves, along with time, but at the same time we can generate thousands of pounds of power by thinking of it. So game physics you an say," Osra shrugged.

"Last question, why did you want to find Brett?" Steedly asked.

Osra stopped. He looked down and said, "Everyone needs him, so I'm going to find him."

"Alright we should go that way," Steedly pointed right.

"Whatever floats your boat," Osra followed him.

Hours later of ravaging through the maze, Osra slayed anything that crossed his path. _I'm going to find Brett and bring him home. It's where he belongs. He belongs with Mel, if she's happy, I'm happy._ Osra thought as he ran past some Fallen. He'd been practicing his sword skills in his room where he had his privacy. He wanted to go in alone, and taking care of Steedly was an extra challenge. He wanted to test his own limits. He wanted to see how far he'd get to Brett. Well, he achieved his goal. He found Brett holding his gut and fighting off some Fallen.

"Brett!" Osra screamed. Osra slashed the Fallen's back. "Brett! Are you okay?"

"Huh?" Brett lowered his guard and discovered Osra standing in front of him. "Osra?! N-No w-way!" he stuttered.

"Are you okay?" Osra took out his only green arrow, and jammed it into Brett's leg.

"T-Thank you Osra. I'm okay, where's Mel?" he asked. He looked around and only saw Steedly. He nodded and grinned.

"The whole group is at the place you pointed out. We made it thanks to you. Everyone thought you were dead! How is it you survived all of those enemies?" Osra asked in astonishment. Inside, Osra had a bad feeling.

Brett grinned once more speaking, "I killed survivors I found in the maze." he coughed out some blood and drew his sword up to Osra's neck. "Great job Steedly, for leading him to me," He tossed Steedly a black blade.

"What's this?" Steedly caught the black blade.

"Darkness Pin, one of the strongest weapons in the game," Brett started, "Rumor says you can reap health from players once you cut them."

"Oh, I like the sound of that!" He walked up to Osra.

"Steedly! How could you?" Osra looked at him with anger. Steedly cut his wrist, and Osra's health dropped from a hundred percent to twenty. He bit back a curse word, and took out Raging Waves.

"Drop the tome! Before I behead your worthless skull from your shoulders!" He forced the tome out of his hands. "Now, little hero is going to take me back to the cabin and I'm going to KILL everyone except Melody and TAKE her from you! You're always in the way Josh! Now if you don't take me I slit your throat, then make my way back to cabin and to do the same," He laughed.

"Thanks sir! Glad this all worked out," Steedly grinned.

"You're going to regret this Steedly," Osra grunted.

"Oh, it won't be me suffering," He laughed and went into the shadows.

Osra kicked Brett in the stomach with the strength he had left. Brett loosened his grip, and Osra broke free. "You idiot! Have you forgotten about Theo and Justin?! They will kill the both of you! What if I give the wrong direction? How would you know?" Osra drew his sword.

"Oh, don't worry, I have the place surrounded already, and don't worry, I had Steedly spray the ground with red paint ever since you two left. He was actually going to find me himself and bring us there, and you were never needed Osra, you just made the process faster. Come out boys," Brett clapped and Steedly, along with red players surrounded the two.

"You sure this girl is pretty boss?" One of the players asked Brett.

"Oh don't worry John, there are more girls you guys can share, but Melody is mine! Now get going! Take me to the Calm Room!" Brett ordered Osra. Osra grunted and spat in his face.

"Like I would," Osra laughed.

"Nu-uh-uh!" Brett cut Osra's arm a bit, and his health dropped to fifteen percent. "I wouldn't if I were you!" Brett laughed.

Osra bit back another curse and started to walk as he was disarmed. Brett grinned as his plan worked.

After a while, Osra returned to the cabin.

"Okay, we're going to walk in like nothing happened, and you're going to bring me to them, alright?" Brett threatened him with his sword. Osra glared and slowly nodded his head.

"Osra! Steedly! Where did you guys go?!" Everyone tackled them.

"Let's welcome home our hero of the day," Osra muttered with despair.

"No freaking way! Brett?!" Mel ran past Osra, not bothering to heal him. She gave Brett a long hug.

"I miss you too," Brett acted.

"Hey Chumbus," Osra whispered while pretending to get an apple.

"Yeah, what's up? Why are you whispering?" Chumbus asked.

"Brett has a group, he's RED! He's going to do something to Mel!" he told him.

"Dude, that's not funny. Brett's not evil! He's Brett!" Chumbus punched him.

"I'm not kidding!" Osra punched him back. Brett glared at him, and he said, "N-Nice joke buddy!"

"Weirdo," Chumbus walked away.

Everyone went to bed while Brett and Mel stood outside to talk about something important. Osra peered behind the counter top.

"H-How are you M-Melody?" Brett asked. They glanced into each other's eyes.

"I'm fine Brett! Thank you! You need some water?" She asked. She blushed and turned around.

"Nope, I need you!" He grabbed her by the waist and spun her around.

"Wha!" Mel blushed harder.

Osra came out of his spot, "MELODY!"

"J-Josh?! What are you doing here?! You creep!" she told him, still in Brett's arms.

"Brett's evil! Check him! Look he's red!" he shouted as he reached for his sword but noticed it was gone. "M-My sword," he said as he reached for his magical water tome. "M-My water!"

"Stop it Osra! You're lying!" she denied him. Brett made her face him.

"Oh Melody," Brett gave Melody a long kiss and smirked. "He isn't lying." He called out his goons. They brought out everyone tied up and lined them in front of Melody. Osra watched in horror, unable to do anything.

Keith managed to get the rag out of his mouth. "Don't you dare lying one of your dirty fingers on Kate! You'll regret living!" The rag was shoved into his mouth again.

Chumbus looked at Osra with regret. He shook his head and looked down.

"Give it up boy, you lost," Brett laughed. He Osra up, and set him in line. He held Mel closer and also tighter.

"I can't believe this," David mumbled under his rag.

"Take away the others, leave me and Osra alone," Brett ordered.

"Alright sir!" Steedly pulled each one side by side. Everyone stood in shock, paralyzed by the pure element of surprise. Taylor glared at him, for she never liked him.

"No way you're touching me! Let my friends go, and," Mel pulled away from Brett and hesitated. "I'll be yours," she finished.

"Wait, I want to see the look on your faces after this," Brett twirled Mel to face where everyone was being held captive.

"After what?" Osra turned around with his knees.

"You guys are in for a treat!" Steedly said as he paced back and forth with Darkness Pin. "Remove their rags from their mouths! I want to hear their screams," Steedly ordered the men. Each of them took off their captives' rags, and were showered with curse words.

"Steedly why?" Adam asked. His eyes drained of happiness, and filled with sorrow. He looked at him, tears forming.

"How could you? After Max? After Gary and Jordan? How can you betray us after Jack and Max? They stayed back at the hotel to save us! What the hell Nathan?! Just why?" Tim shouted. Steedly impaled him with his dark sword. Tim mumbled as he faded, "Why?"

"I'm sorry Tim," Steedly muttered. He held back the tears in his eyes. Nothing is worse than having to kill your own guild.

"Tim!" Taylor screamed.

"I'm sorry guys," Steedly muttered. He waited for Fallen Tim to rise, and then beheaded him.

"Do it! I dare you! Go ahead Nathan! Kill us all! Kill all your friends! Then what are you going to do? Huh? What are you going to," Adam was quickly beheaded. Steedly gained more health. Fallen Captain Adam rose up, and growled. Steedly sliced his head off without looking at him.

"I'm sorry guys," Steedly whined. "Brett said if I did this, you guys would be set free, so don't worry," Steedly quickly impaled Nilesh and David. He beheaded their Fallen forms, and looked away as they faded. He covered his ears as the broken notes played.

"I never liked you, so I'm not surprised," Taylor muttered. She glared harshly at him, but he went over to Technis II.

"No! Not my sister!" Mel shrieked, but Brett covered her mouth. She tugged and pulled on his grip, but it just tightened. Mel's tears poured out like a waterfall.

"Don't worry about me sis," Technis II smiled towards Mel, "keep moving on." Steedly's sword dug its way into her chest.

Brett grabbed Mel forcefully once more. Mel whimpered as he forced her lips onto his. "So, what do you think Osra? Where should I start? No mercy!" Brett laughed.

"Stop right now! Please! Leave them alone! Kill me if you want, just leave them alone!" Osra screamed, voice drained. He looked at Brett with beady eyes. "P-Please, give them sympathy!" Osra pleaded.

An arrow whizzed by and shot Steedly in the knee. Steedly fell to the ground, holding his knee. The sword emerged from Technis II's chest, but her health was draining fast.

A boy with long brown hair came out of the maze with three more people. Another boy emerged with a girl.

"Jane! Untie them! Hurry!" The boy with long hair shouted.

"On it!" Another girl emerged from the maze. Her blond hair rushed behind her as she ran to Technis II.

"James! Watch out!" The second boy shouted. The long-haired boy duck a swing from one of Brett's goons, and sliced him in half. He then stabbed the ground and the Fallen didn't rise.

"Thanks Johnny!" James laughed.

"Annie, go heal everyone who needs it!" Johnny told the girl besides him.

"You got it!" Annie skipped to Technis II first, but Mel beat her to her.

"I got this! Go help other people Annabel!" Mel screamed.

"Johnny is that you?" Heruseus stood up as the ropes were removed.

"In the digital flesh! Nice to see you Theo, it's been a while!" Johnny said as he kicked a goon in the stomach. He stabbed the ground with his arrow.

"What are you doing?" Lizardon asked.

"This stops them from coming back," Johnny explained.

"We need our weapons, we can't dodge forever," Charles rolled to the left.

"I see them! On the table!" Chumbus ran into the house and took back his dragon stone. He transformed into a silver dragon and roared. He grabbed everyone's weapon and flew over everyone to hand them theirs.

"Alright let's finish this!" Taylor walked up to Steedly and dismembered every limb from his body. Steedly smiled for he realized what had happened, and so he thanked her silently. Fallen Steedly rose though, and did not hesitate to return the favor.

"Taylor!" Thomas did a front flip over Fallen Steedly and grabbed her sword. He stabbed the ground so she could rest peacefully. "Steedly!" Thomas sliced his head off with no hesitation. He cried, for he was the only one left in his guild alive.

"Pick a god and pray!" Heruseus said as he shot the last goon with his lighting tome, Dark Lightning. "That's all of them," he muttered.

"Bye Brett," Osra said as he raised his sword.

"Wait," Mel said. She walked up to him and lit him on fire with a weak fire tome. "That's better," Mel kicked his scorching body.

"Stop, Mel," Technis II stuttered. "You're wasting your resources, you'll need them later," Technis II spat out blood.

"No," Mel kept using her healing tome until it broke, but her health kept falling. "I need more arrows!" Mel screamed.

"Mel, that's enough," Charles said, eyes red with tears.

"No it's not! We can save her!" Mel screamed.

"Melody Waters! Stop! You can't change fate," Technis II said weakly. Her health down to thirty percent again.

"But, but, you'll die!" Mel muttered. "I can't lose my sister!" She repeated, "I can't lose my sister!"

Annie tried to walk forward, but Johnny held his arm out and shook his head. Osra walked up.

"Hey, she'll be okay. She'll unite with Anthony again," Osra put her hand on her shoulder.

"I can't lose my sister," Mel muttered as she stopped. Technis II looked into her eyes and smiled weakly. Her health dropped to five percent, four, three, two.

"I love you, Melody," Technis II muttered as she faded away. A broken note played, and Mel quickly stabbed the ground.

"I love you too, Beth," Mel mumbled. Osra went to her side as she cried.


	9. Chapter 9: Cooling Off

**Author's Note: I am so sorry! I got into some conflict that resulted in my computer being taken away, and I will get it back soon. I'm uploading 9 and 10 now so don't worry. I'm so sorry.** **To be honest I really hated writing that chapter... Like so many awesome side characters died, and then we had to kill off a main character too?! That chapter just goes to show how dangerous this game can be. And that's what I wanted. Rest in Piece, Technis II. _Oh crap, both of the Technis are dead!_**

* * *

 **Chapter 9: Cooling Off**

"Rest in peace sis," Mel muttered as she finished her memorial grave. She looked at the fourteen other graves that lied next to the lake. She shook her head and got up.

"Thank you guys again. Many would have died here without you four," Osra thanked them.

"Four? Oh yeah, Ricky! Hayden!" James called back to the maze. "Are you guys back yet?"

"We're here!" A boy with freckles emerged from the maze with another boy with long brown hair and more freckles. "Micky takes too long," Hayden muttered.

"It's Ricky!" Ricky stammered. "And I had to finish off that guy in style!" Ricky laughed.

"Weirdo," Hayden mumbled.

"Be nice!" Jane smacked his head.

"Who's this?" Pyrus looked at Jane, "I haven't seen her before."

"That's Jane," James stared at her. "We've been dating for two years," James smiled.

"Oh, that's nice," Pyrus laughed.

"So how do you guys know each other?" P.G. asked.

"Well, all of us went to the same high school before S.A.O.," Pyrus shrugged.

"Yep, haven't seen you guys ever since!" Executioner smiled.

"We need to stay here for a while, I don't think anyone's ready to move on," Chumbus sighed.

"Great idea," Heruseus said.

"We should swim in the lake! Ya know, have a lake day?" Charles said, trying to bring up the mood.

"Yeah, that sounds fun!" P.G. agreed.

"Wait, what are going to use as swimming suits?" Lizardon asked.

"Our old armor? I dunno," Executioner shrugged.

"No, we'll drown," Pyrus laughed.

"Maybe our normal clothes?" Heruseus suggested.

"Maybe," P.G. took off her armor and jumped into the water. "It works!" She yelled.

"Yeah, just not our underwear," Charles laughed.

"So, how's the water?" Osra asked before jumping in.

"It actually feels really good!" Chumbus laughed.

"Hurry up and come in Josh!" Mel laughed.

"Alright, I'm coming in!" Osra leaped from the dirt and made a huge splash.

"Dang dude! You nearly blasted P.G. out of the water!" Pyrus laughed.

"Ahh! My headband!" Lizardon dove underwater to search for his missing headband.

"Why did you wear a headband here?" Executioner asked him.

"Because I like headbands!" Lizardon replied simply and laughed.

"Care to explain how you saw us?" Pyrus glared at James.

"What? We were just strolling by, and we saw you guys in trouble, so Johnny shot his arrow before I could say anything," James cracked his neck.

"Oh, so, where was Hayden and Ricky?" P.G. joined the conversation.

"They went to get supplies," James simply said.

"Well, welcome to The Hearts of Light," Pyrus told him.

"Cannon ball!" Executioner shouted from the top of the cabin.

"Evan get down!" Lizardon shouted.

"Can't stop me now!" Executioner leaped off the roof and made a tiny splash in the lake.

"Bruh, what was that?" Thomas woke up.

"Hey dude are you okay?" Osra asked him.

"No, what the hell do you think? My whole group just died, but I am ready to move that aside, let's have some fun!" Thomas took off his armor and climbed to the roof. He leaped and created a bigger splash.

"Oh, my gosh, you guys are idiots," Mel giggled.

"I can make a bigger one!" Keith shouted.

"Keith don't hurt yourself!" Kate shouted.

"Don't worry! I got this!" Keith front flipped off the roof and landed perfectly into the water in the form of a ball. The smallest splash possible was made.

"That's what you get for showing off!" Lizardon laughed.

"Why don't you go up there Luke?" Executioner slapped his back.

"Why not?" Lizardon laughed as he climbed to the top.

"I'll show you guys a real cannon ball!" Lizardon screamed as he jumped off the tall cabin. He caused huge waves throughout the lake, and emerged from the water. "Ahh! My headband!" He dove down to get it again.

"Watch this guys," Pyrus stole Osra's Raging Waves and lifted himself into the air. He used the water as a boost and shot himself down like an actual cannonball.

"Westin you cheater!" P.G. laughed.

"You better slow down! You're coming in hot!" Heruseus screamed.

"I always am!" Pyrus slammed into the water, creating huge waves.

"Hey my tome!" Osra hit him in the head.

"Best cannonball ever!"Pyrus said as he emerged from the sparkling clear water.

"We needed this," Charles said as he layed back.

"You said it," Chumbus said as he splashed Mel.

"Why you," Mel swam around the whole lake, chasing him. "When did you gain more stamina?" Mel panted.

"I don't know, maybe you lost stamina!" Chumbus laughed as he swam away.

"It's not over yet!" Mel shouted as she swam after him.

"Where's Rachel?" P.G. asked.

"Still sleeping," Kate told her.

"Still?" P.G. replied.

"Yeah, she sleeps a lot in general," Kate shrugged.

"Oh well," P.G. laughed as she climbed to the roof.

"Well, well, well, look at this!" Charles pointed towards P.G. "She's finally jumping!" He laughed.

"Are you sure this is safe guys?" P.G. looked down.

"Yeah, just don't hit the ground," Executioner laughed.

"Yeah, great advice!" P.G. said quite sarcastically.

"Just do it sis," Pyrus shouted.

"Easy for you to say!" P.G. glared.

"Wait, where did Heruseus go?" Chumbus stopped.

"Got you!" Mel laughed.

"Kylie! Watch out!" Osra pointed at Heruseus who was on the roof.

"Go!" Heruseus laughed as he pushed her. P.G. screamed as she fell from the twenty foot building. Heruseus followed her into the water.

"You idiot! You could've killed me!" P.G. punched him in the face.

"Yeah, could have," Heruseus said as he rubbed his face.

"Oh you guys are funny," Charles laughed.

"Wait, Lizardon hasn't resurfaced yet," Executioner dove into the water. Lizardon emerged quickly, headbutting him along the way.

"Fish!" Lizardon screamed. "A big one! A very very big one!" Lizardon ran out of the water.

"Run!" Executioner screamed.

"It can't be that bad!" Pyrus dove into the water. "Oh that's big! It's bad!" Pyrus ran out to the sand.

"Man, you guys suck," P.G. said, diving.

"No, sis! He'll eat you!" Pyrus screamed.

"Calm down!" P.G. dove down. Purple Gleam saw a small glimmer in towards the bottom. _Man their just bluffing._ P.G. thought. She swam closer and two eyes opened. She stuttered back and watched as it opened its huge, purple jaw and swam up for her. _Nope!_ P.G. swam up and hid behind Heruseus on shore.

"Wha?" Heruseus blushed a little bit when she hid behind him. She was only about two to three years older than him.

"T-That is a big fish," P.G. stuttered.

"It ate my headband!" Lizardon growled. "I'm going after bandie!" Lizardon re-entered the water.

"Bandie?" Osra tilted his head.

"My headband, and I'm going to rescue him!" Lizardon dove down.

"Wait! You have no weapon!" Charles dove after him. He took an arrow along with him.

SPLASH!

"It's eating me!" Lizardon screamed.

"Luke calm down that's me!" Charles resurfaced.

"Oh," Lizardon stopped. "Bandie!" He dove back down.

SPLASH! The over-sized animal surfaced, and had Lizardon in his mouth. Everyone drew their weapons.

"Hey guys I found him!" Lizardon put on his green headband and realized what was happening. "Ahh! It's eating me!" The huge fish swallowed Lizardon.

"It has wings!" Charles shouted as it flew high.

"That is not a fish," Executioner stuttered.

"Hurry! We need to save Lizardon!" Pyrus shouted as he leaped at the monstrous beast and smacked it down. The giant fish took him down along with him. He crashed into the wall and bounced off. "T-That didn't go so well," He muttered.

"Alright I got you," Mel healed him. The fish landed besides them, causing the ground to shake.

"W-Whoa!" Charles tried to run to it, but he lost his footing and tripped into his mouth. The fish swallowed him whole.

"Charles!" Heruseus screamed.

"No mercy!" Executioner screamed as he jabbed the fish in the gut. The giant beast let out a horrifying scream which paralyzed anyone within ten feet. The fish turned around and ate Executioner too.

"Heruseus, we're losing people here!" P.G. shouted over the screaming of the fish. "Wait, where's my brother?" She looked up at the roof.

"Die!" Pyrus screamed as he tried the same tactic. The fish simply opened its mouth and he jumped right in. P.G. shook her head in disbelief and embarrassment.

"Okay, Johnny, since you're the only archer we have left shoot its eyes first, I'll help you!" Heruseus shouted.

"Right!" Johnny shot his arrow directly towards its eye, and was aided by Heruseus's lightning.

"Mel watch out!" Osra screamed. The fish slumped over and grabbed Mel with its tongue.

"Eww!" Mel squealed as she was swallowed whole.

"Osra don't you dare think about it!" Chumbus yelled. Osra pried open its jaw and ran inside.

"Oh, that kid sometimes I swear," Chumbus shook his head.

"Justin, do you have some sort of beast that can pierce metal?" Heruseus asked.

"Yeah, why?" Chumbus asked.

"That monster's belly is made purely of titanium alloy, it'll burst if we attack it repetitively," Heruseus told him.

"Sounds like a plan!" Chumbus transformed into the tiger-beast and pounded at the fish.

"Keep going! Everyone! Everyone?" Heruseus looked behind him and only saw P.G.

"Uhh, they all got eaten," P.G. stuttered.

"Oh wow. Kylie, shock them with your lighting and don't hold back!" Heruseus ordered her.

"Alright!" P.G. quickly took out her tome and shocked Chumbus, paralyzing him. The fish turned around again and ate him too.

"Well, it's only me and you now," Heruseus grunted.

"That's what it looks like," P.G. glared at the fish.

As they charged, the fish exploded.

"Agh! This is so slippery!" Chumbus gagged as he fell down the fish's esophagus.

"Welcome Justin!" Charles said sarcastically.

"How the heck did you get down here?" Lizardon asked him.

"Paralyzed then eaten," Chumbus crossed his arms.

"I feel ya brother," Executioner mumbled.

"We might be able to kill it from here if we attack it," Chumbus told them.

"Attack!" Pyrus shrieked as everyone jabbed, zapped, and stabbed from the inside. The fish exploded into tiny bits.

"I can finally breathe again!" Lizardon squealed. "Bandie I missed you!" He kissed his headband which was covered in fish guts, and then barfed.

"What in the heaven's happened?" P.G. asked.

"After Chumbus slipped in, we attacked from the inside and made it explode, I think," Executioner laughed.

"Why did you do that idiot?" Heruseus smacked Osra in the head.

"My bad," Osra muttered under his breath.

"Well, fish tonight anyone?" Mel laughed.

"Why are you laughing? We just came out of a giant fish!" Pyrus laughed too, "Oh wait." He laughed harder.

"Fish sounds awesome tonight!" Charles smiled.

"Alright then, who's cooking?" Mel asked.

"My cooking skill isn't that high, but I try," P.G. raised her hand.

"Then I'll help you!" Lizardon raised his hand instantly.

"Alright then let's collect all the bits and leave it to them!" Chumbus laughed as he went inside. "I'm changing, this stuff is gross," Chumbus shouted.

"Good idea!" Charles went inside too, and everyone followed except for P.G. who stayed back to collect all the fish bits scattered everywhere.

"Hey you," A high-pitched voice whispered.

"Who are you?" P.G. dropped the fish and took out her tome, Stunning Storm.

"No-one of your concern, but I want to make a deal," The voice said harshly. A man from the shadow emerged. He wore a long cloak that covered his whole face, and looked fairly small. "You killed my family," He muttered.

P.G. stood paralyzed, for she realized what he was talking about.

A sudden gust of wind rushed past them, taking off the boy's hood.

"Viper Steedly," P.G. glared.

"Hello Gleam," Viper muttered. "You murdered my family," The twelve-year-old boy muttered again.

"Hey, they were killing us!" P.G. argued.

"You're going to suffer now," Tears filled Viper's eyes as he took out Darkness Pin. P.G.'s eyes widened. "Recognize this blade? This was the blade of my brother, and you shall suffer for your sins!" Viper rushed towards her.

"You poor poor kid," P.G. stepped aside, Viper running past her. He charged again, but this time, P.G. disarmed him, and hugged him. "It's okay, you'll be okay Viper," She muttered softly into the kid's ear. "Don't worry, I'll keep you safe okay?" She wiped away his tears.

"Are you sure?" Viper muttered. "I just tried to kill you," Viper cried harder.

"Don't worry, The Hearts of Light welcome everyone, you'll fit in just fine. Now come inside, I'm going to cook fish tonight," P.G. stood up.

"Thank you so much," Viper cried.


	10. Chapter 10: Ze Viper

**Chapter 10: Ze Viper**

"Hey guys, this is Viper," P.G. walked into the cabin. He hid shyly behind her. "Go ahead, show yourself," P.G. pushed him a little. "He hid at the guild's hotel while they held us captive," P.G. explained.

"H-Hi," Viper muttered. He hid behind her again.

"Hey that's Steedly's little brother!" Thomas's eyes widened. "We can't trust him, he needs to go," Thomas drew his sword,

"Calm down! He's only twelve, he's lost. He has no-where to go!" P.G. argued.

"Thomas has a point! His guild murdered twelve of ours!" Heruseus glared.

"You guys are scaring him! Well, what do you suspect we do? Leave a little twelve-year-old in the maze by himself?" P.G. glared.

"P.G., we need to talk," Osra told her.

"Stay out here okay?" P.G. told him. He nodded and sat down outside.

"Look, this isn't a bright idea," Mel said.

"Yeah, we just go around letting kids join our guild!" Charles argued.

"It's not just about that!" Mel said. "His guild nearly murdered all of us, how can we trust him?" Mel asked.

"Well, he is only twelve," Osra muttered.

"See! That's the point he's a scared twelve-year-old boy with no family here!" P.G. argued.

"I say we kill him and put him out of his misery," Lizardon muttered.

"Whoa, slow down there kid," Mel said.

"Hey, he has a point, we kill him and he doesn't have to deal with this," Chumbus nodded.

"How can you guys easily say to just kill a kid? A child!" Executioner glared.

"Says the one named 'Executioner'," Lizardon giggled.

"So what do we do?" Pyrus asked.

"Everyone stand," Mel said. "People who want him to stay, stay standing," Mel said as she stood up.

"Everyone else sit down if you want him dead," Mel sat down.

"Sorry, but he just can't handle this," Lizardon sat down.

"This is just wrong," Executioner stayed up.

"Thank you," P.G. stayed up.

"I've always trusted my sister, and I'm willing to trust her now," Pyrus stayed up.

"Luke has a point, he can't handle this game," Heruseus shook his head and sat his down.

"What must be done, must be done," Charles sat down.

"I can't kill a kid," Chumbus stayed up.

"Well, you're deciding Osra, it's four four," Mel looked at him.

Osra glanced outside. He looked at the poor little boy sitting on the porch, staring at nothing.

"He stays, he doesn't have to die," Osra stayed up.

"Then it's decided, Viper stays," Mel smiled. She gave a sigh of relief. She couldn't really kill a child.

"Welcome to the Hearts of Light Viper Steedly!" Heruseus smiled.

"Now accept the invite," Osra sent the invite.

Tears filled his eyes once more, "I can't." He simply said. "Just do it, I heard you guys, kill me," He muttered. "Spare my life from this nightmare," He wailed.

"No, we won't," Pyrus spoke up. "We decided to get you to the end," Pyrus smiled.

"How can you guys trust me?" Viper asked.

"We can't, but we're willing to if you're up to it," P.G. told him.

"We'll protect you Viper," Charles stared him in his pale grey eyes.

"Thanks, you won't regret it!" Viper wiped his tears and smiled.

"So little guy, are you going to help me cook?" P.G. laughed.

"Sure!" He replied as they both went into the kitchen.

"So first, boil the fish, and we'll season it, later we'll add some lemon and make sour soup," P.G. told him.

"Alright!" Viper boiled the water quickly and poured a little poison into it.

"I can take it from here, go ahead and play," P.G. told him. As he left, she quickly dumped the water, and set the timer for thirty minutes. She placed all the fish inside and just had to wait for the timer to go off. _Looks like I made the wrong choice, oops_ She thought. She left the kitchen to keep a eye on him.

"Hey Mr. Pyrus let's play!" Viper asked Pyrus.

"Sure little guy!" Pyrus caught the black ball and threw it back.

"You're good Mr. Pyrus!" Viper overthrew the ball.

"Damn you have a strong hand, what have you been doing?" Pyrus ran after the ball, leaving his back towards Viper.

"Waiting for revenge," Viper smirked as he grabbed a near-by tome and got ready to use it.

"Viper! It's ready!" P.G. said quickly. Pyrus turned around quickly to see him run to the kitchen.

"Yes P.G.?" Viper acted.

"The soup isn't about ready yet, why don't you go and do something else?" P.G. told him.

"Okay! I'll go find Mr. Chumbus," Viper ran upstairs where Chumbus was drying his hair. "Hey mister, do you wanna play chess?" He asked as he took out a chess board.

"No-way! Sure, but get ready to cry," Chumbus laughed as he set up his pieces. "You're white, you go first," Chumbus mumbled.

"Alright, hmm," Viper stood thinking. An hour passed and Chumbus fell asleep. "Great timing, I was getting bored myself," Viper took out a long needle and leaned over.

"Viper!" P.G. yelled.

"Damn that lady," Viper ran downstairs. "Yes?" He asked.

"Can you help clean up this mess? I dropped some eggs," P.G. asked him.

"Okay!" Viper quickly cleaned up the spilled purple egg yolks on the floor. "All done!" He said.

"Alright why don't you stay here and read for a little, I"m sure Chumbus is pretty tired by now," P.G. suggested.

"Sure!" Viper said. _She's on to me,_ Viper thought as he grabbed his book. He sat on the table for another hour, and he eventually fell asleep.

"This kid is dangerous," P.G. told them.

"I knew it," Charles said.

"Westin, he has about to obliterate you with a lighting tome," P.G. informed.

"I knew something was up," Pyrus glared.

"Well, what do we do? He won't sleep forever," Osra mumbled.

"That can be arranged," Heruseus cracked his knuckles.

"No, no! We can't do that yet," P.G. sighed.

"See, what did I say?" Thomas joined the conversation.

"Hey! You're not suppose to hear this!" Osra yelled and woke up Viper.

"Ehh? What are you guys doing?" Viper rubbed his eyes.

"Nothing, but it's dinner time, so make the table," P.G. told him.

"Roger!" Viper rushed around the room, setting up the bowls, spoons, and what ever was needed. "Ready!" He laughed.

"Right," P.G. smiled.

"Let's eat!" Charles laughed.

Shortly after Chumbus took the first bite, Viper stared at him and grinned. He waited for him to choke on his own blood and fall to the ground. He waited and waited, but nothing happened. He sat there shocked until he realized P.G. has been watching him. It all made sense to him now, and he glared towards her.

"That's it!" Viper stood on the table.

"Viper Steedly sit down!" P.G. stood up and pointed to his chair.

"I'm done! You're all going to die!" Viper laughed and threw a smoke bomb to the floor and disappeared.

"Darkness Pin! Where is it?" Charles stood up.

"It's gone!" Chumbus told them.

"What's a twelve-year-old going to," Ricky stood up and was quickly beheaded by a streak of black.

"Oh shoot!" Hayden backed up.

"Everyone stay together! Don't break up, or he'll hunt us one by one!" Osra shouted.

"Everyone! Run!" Hayden shouted, and everyone scattered.

"Oh, wow," Osra shook his head.

"Guys! Get to a room!" Chumbus yelled.

P.G. and Pyrus hid in one room, while James and the rest of his group, along with Keith, Kate and Rachel hid in another. Osra, Mel, Chumbus, Heruseus, Lizardon, Executioner, and Charles hid in the bathroom. James and the rest of his group, along with Keith and Kate hid in the upstairs bathroom.

"Why did you guys follow me to the restroom?" Chumbus glared at all of them. "Weirdos," he unzipped his pants and used the toilet.

"Hey don't leave the seat up! Gross!" Mel yelled at him.

"Ehh, sorry," Chumbus closed the toilet seat. There was a knock at the window and everyone went silent.

"I am ze Viper! Here to Vipe your vindows!" Viper laughed. He acted in a strong German accent. "I know you vare zere," Viper laughed menacingly.

Heruseus held a finger over his mouth and motioned his hands to stay still.

"Ze Viper does not like silence!" Viper bursted through the window, and discovered no-one was there. Everyone hid in a secret room under the sink.

"Okay, everyone stay here, I'm going after everyone else," Charles said.

"You want to die?" Heruseus asked.

"No, but I'm pretty sure the others don't want to either!" Charles opened the trap door.

"Exactly, so I'm going with you!" Lizardon told him.

"Be careful you two, we'll stay here and say of Viper comes," Osra nodded.

"Alright guys come on!" Lizardon motioned his hands out of the door. "Follow us," Lizardon told them.

"Viper isn't anywhere on the map," Charles mumbled.

"Are you sure?" Lizardon asked.

"Yeah, maybe he's waiting for someone," Charles thought.

"Thomas!" Lizardon stopped him. "You weren't good friend with Steedly right?" He asked him,

"Yeah, I never liked that idiot," Thomas shook his head.

"Then stay closer to us, it's best for you," Lizardon looked at him sternly.

"Good idea," Thomas smiled.

"We were right, he's back for Thomas," Charles stared at the red dot on his map that was moving towards them. "We gotta move!" Charles closed the map.

"Who's after Thomas? Thomas doesn't like that," Thomas whined.

"We have to move," Lizardon rushed them into the bathroom, "He's coming faster."

"Ze Viper doesn't like Vhomas, give him to me," Viper hissed. He banged on the bathroom door.

"Shh," Chumbus hushed them. Thomas nodded slowly and smirked. He was glad to be safe with them.

"We're heading out again," Lizardon said.

"I'll go with you, Austin got hurt," Executioner told him.

"What happened?" Lizardon looked back at him.

"I stubbed my toe," Charles muttered.

"Idiot, alright let's go," Lizardon opened the miniature door.

"See ya!" Executioner zipped out like a speedy hedgehog and grabbed his axe.

"Evan wait!" Lizardon shouted.

"Okay guys, we're going to zip out of here and go straight to the kitchen for snacks, and then to the bathroom!" Executioner said as he opened the room where everyone else hid.

"Why?" Pyrus asked.

"Why not?" Executioner grinned and led them to the bathroom. Mid-way, Viper zoomed across the room and slashed P.G.'s arm.

"Damn!" P.G. grunted.

"Kyls!" Pyrus blocked another slash for her.

"Evan I told you to wait!" Lizardon shouted.

"Everyone keep going I got this!" P.G. shouted.

"Not by yourself you don't!" Pyrus said. He stood by his sister's side and glanced around the room.

"James, lead them to the bathroom and tell them it's okay to come out," Lizardon took out his knives, "we're going to finish this."

"Kyls, see if you can paralyze him," Executioner placed his eyes on the black flash darting back and forth in the room.

"I can try, the slash hurt," P.G. shot a blast and knocked him off his feet. "Still got the skills!" P.G. laughed.

"Executioner, take away Darkness Pin, I'll knife him down to the ground," Lizardon told him.

"Can I kill him?" Executioner asked.

"Just wait," Lizardon told him.

"I didn't do anything!" Pyrus said stubbornly.

"Yeah you did, you protected your sister," Lizardon smiled as he stuck knives through Viper's shirt, and into the floor.

"Then let me kill him!" Pyrus whined.

"That's up to your sister," Lizardon looked at her.

"Well, what do we do this time?" Heruseus muttered.

"We kill him this time," P.G. glared at the boy.

"But I'm just a kid!" Tears fell out of his eyes.

"That won't work anymore, you killed my family," P.G. glared and struck his chest. She took the knife out and asked, "How long was your idiotic brother planing with Brett?"

"Well, there's no benefit or reason to lie," Viper rolled his eyes. "After Halloween, Brett left in order for your escape. Brett went insane due to the maze and messaged my brother who told me everything. Nathan wanted to set things right and set everyone free. He was convinced that if he helped Brett kill his friends and get miss Melody, he would set his friends free from this hellish game. I tried convincing him it wasn't smart, but he didn't listen, he wanted his friends out of the game as soon as possible. He stated he didn't want anybody to suffer. Then you guys killed everyone, THE END, may I go now?" Viper asked, irritated.

"Sure," P.G. jammed the knife deep into his chest, "you may leave the world now."

"Oh, I'm not going out like this," Viper grinned, he grabbed a knife near-by and shoved it into P.G.'s chest too. Viper's health dropped to zero and he faded away, his laughter floating in the air. Chumbus quickly stabbed the spot where he died to prevent him from coming back to do more damage.

"Kyls!" Pyrus cried. He caught her as she fell and quickly took out the small dagger.

"Her health is dropping!" Chumbus shouted.

"We're on it!" Lizardon shouted as he and Mel ran up to her.

"Let us help!" Annie and Kate ran up to help as well.

P.G.'s health was falling quickly, from fifty to forty, to thirty. Mel took out a green arrow and shoved it where the wound was. Her health refilled, but it kept draining.

"There must be a shard in there somewhere!" Lizardon said as he kept healing. It was too late. P.G. faded away with loved ones surrounding her. Complete silence covered the room. Pyrus quickly stabbed the ground, tears falling.

"This isn't possible," Charles muttered.

Suddenly an orb flashed in front of them, showing a number two. The two began to blink. Pyrus touched it and it flashed brighter. He slapped it, and it began to brighten up the whole room.

"Is that a smart idea?" Charles watched him.

"I have no idea," Pyrus slabbed it again.

Everyone stared in awe at floating orb that began to glow brighter. P.G. materialized in front of them.

"Whoa that was trippy," P.G. gagged, she fell to her knees and barfed. She coughed more and sneezed. Everyone stared in disbelief. She looked up and said, "What just happened?"

"T-The skill! It worked!" Pyrus ran up to his sister and hugged her.

"I thought I just died," P.G. muttered, confused.

"We all did, so what happened?" Executioner laughed as he wiped the tear from his eye.

"Well, the GAME OVER screen flashed in my face and then something was choking me. Next thing I know, I was poked, and then slapped, and then I fell underwater for some reason. It felt like a weird dream, but then I woke up here," P.G. coughed again.

"Sorry, I kinda slapped you," Pyrus giggled.

"Well, we're all so happy you came back. I don't even know what would happen later, this game is a mess," Osra smiled weakly.

"You said it bro," Heruseus laughed.

"Let's get some rest, it's been too much drama for one day," P.G. laughed.

"Guys! What about Ricky?!" Hayden stomped.

"Yeah, I was trying to avoid that," Osra mumbled.

"Why?" Hayden glared at him.

"Hey, I bet I knew him better than you," Osra glared back, he then pointed outside. "I already set his grave up, so he can rest in piece," Osra cracked his neck.

"Oh, I didn't notice, sorry," Hayden froze.

"Everyone let's get to bed," Executioner yawned.

"Alright then," Hayden layed out a mat and took off his armor. He slumped down and knocked out instantly.

"Alright good night," P.G. said as everyone layed out their mats.


	11. Chapter 11: A Turkey Problem

**Chapter 11: A Turkey Problem**

 _A month passed, and The Hearts of Light carried on. They weren't planning on leaving anytime soon, and as they realized it's already been two months they've been trapped, they didn't really care. Thanksgiving approached our heroes and like Halloween, Twisting Web Online was transformed into theme. Chumbus grew happier each day the festive holiday grew near, for it was the only holiday he could stuff his face and not get yelled at. They had one problem, there was only one turkey in the whole game._

"Y'all better hurry!" Chumbus screamed.

"We're trying!" Charles cried.

"Slow down dude! I know you saw the turkey, but that's what you said last time!" Lizardon shouted. Chumbus cut a quick corner and ran faster. Lizardon used his recover staff and teleported him to him.

"What the heck dude?" Chumbus smacked him.

"Calm down, I know you like food, and Thanksgiving is tomorrow," Pyrus slapped him, "but you need to slow down, or else you'll die." Pyrus nodded his head as if he were talking to a toddler. A toddler who wanted turkey.

"I SWEAR I saw it!" Chumbus slapped all three of them. "We better go, or else someone else will eat it," Chumbus took off running and drooling. Lizardon gave him ten seconds and brought him back. "I'm going to eat you for Thanksgiving if you don't stop that," Chumbus smacked Lizardon again.

"Look, we're going back to the cabin. It's getting dark, and enemies are spawning more than they were earlier," Charles said, "and you're coming if you want to or not."

"Nope," Chumbus sped off again.

" Purple Arrow! Teleport to Purple Gleam!" Pyrus shouted as he stabbed a nearby wall with his purple arrow. A swirling purple portal opened and showed P.G. in the kitchen. Lizardon ran in with Charles. "Let's go Justin," Pyrus said, half emerged in the portal. Chumbus continued sprinting. Pyrus shrugged and entered the portal.

Immediately, the portal closed, and Lizardon recovered Chumbus again. Chumbus sprinted into the wall and stumbled to the ground. "That's it punk, what did I say?" Chumbus got up and started gnawing on Lizardon's arm.

"Ugh, gross dude!" Lizardon shook him off and wiped his arm.

"You actually taste pretty good," Chumbus smacked his lips and laughed.

"What?" P.G. turned around.

"Long story," Pyrus mumbled.

"Well, how did finding the Turkey?" P.G. said as she stirred a pot.

"More like a wild goose chase," Charles cut in. He grabbed a warm wet towel and slapped it over his face. "Justin nearly killed himself three times," he said thorough the towel.

"Yep, food can really change a guy," Lizardon laughed as he drank some water.

"Dinner's almost ready, go get everyone," P.G. walked over to the huge table and set plates all over it.

Chumbus grinned idiotically and walked into Osra's room, which was lit by candles. Osra stumbled over and tried to hide something, and quickly took something off his chin.

"Yo," Osra held his arms out wide.

"Yo, what are you hiding?" Chumbus tried to look behind him, but he then slapped him.

"Nothing of your concern," Osra shoved him outside the room.

"Whoa, whoa, what's happening?" Mel walked by.

"Osra's hiding something," Chumbus rubbed his head.

Mel looked around the room and sighed, "Josh not this bull crap again."

"Hey! The only reason we stayed alive is because of Lord Edgar!" Osra glared at her.

"Hand it over," Mel held out her hand.

"Fine," Osra gave Mel a statue of some guy with a short beard.

"The beard too," Mel sighed again. Osra grunted and gave her a fake beard resembling the figure's.

"Hmph!" Mel puffed her cheeks, hand still held out.

"Not the picture!" Osra whined. Mel puffed her cheeks more, which began to turn red. "You're so mean," Osra uncovered a giant picture behind him and chucked it at her.

"Uhh, what?" Chumbus tilted his head, confused.

"That's it! No more Edgar!" Mel stomped on the painting.

"You monster! Unlike you! I take Edgarinity very seriously!" Osra glared and stomped back into his room.

"Uhh," Chumbus looked at Mel who was stomping on a painting.

"Josh believes in a god named Edgar, which is," Mel pointed to Rachel.

"My uncle," Rachel finished her sentence.

"Why?" Chumbus asked, confused more.

"We all have no idea," Mel muttered.

"Chumbus! Mel! Rachel! Osra! We're waiting for you!" P.G. shouted.

"On our way!" Mel shouted.

"Any luck on the turkey?" Osra said as he stuffed his face.

"No, but we have fresh Lizardon!" Chumbus looked at Lizardon with carnivorous eyes. Lizardon shook his head rapidly and shoved food in Chumbus's mouth.

"No, Chumbus nearly killed himself three times, so we came back," Charles muttered.

"Like last time?" Mel leaned foreward.

"Kinda, he was closer to death this time though. Yep, nearly ran straight into a dead end," Charles told her.

"Welp, no more turkey chase for you mister," Heruseus turned around and told Chumbus.

"Over my dead body," Chumbus glared.

"That can be arranged," Executioner grinned.

"Okay, you need to control yourself!" Lizardon pointed at Executioner, "and you need to calm down! You're getting turkey crazy."

"Seriously though, you really need to learn how controll that Evan, or you're going to get someone killed," Mel worried.

"Somebody help!" Someone shouted outside the cabin. Everyone exchanged looks and ran outside with their weapons.

"Sir what is it?" Executioner asked him.

"The turkeys are everywhere!" The man screamed.

"Turkeys?" Chumbus had began drooling. A window popped up and showed a quest.

Quest: A Turkey Problem

Help! The turkeys have been reproducing with themselves! Please slay them all, and defeat the turkey that started it all, Master Turkey.

Reward: A turkey to fit a king

Maximum Party: Four

"A quest?" Osra stood in confusion.

"I thought there weren't any quests in T.W.O.," Executioner mumbled.

"Check the update, quests will become more frequent now," Chumbus closed his menu and looked at the man. "I'll help you eat the turkey," He said determined. He reserved a spot on the party.

"I wanna go!" Executioner reserved a spot also.

"Someone needs to make sure you guys won't kill everything," Lizardon reserved a spot with them.

"I want to come!" Thomas shouted. "It's boring here anyway," Thomas stretched his arms and grabbed his sword. He clicked enter on the invite and the four were set.

"Everyone else stay, four is max anyway," Osra told the rest of the group.

"Thank you!" The man bowed and disappeared.

All of a sudden, the four were teleported to a circle. Chumbus drooled a waterfall as he saw turkeys spawn all around them

"I see food everywhere," Chumbus transformed into his dragon form and flew into the air with Executioner on his back.

"Guys wait!" Lizardon screamed.

"Hey dude, what do we do?" Thomas asked him.

"We slay turkey," Lizardon smiled as he smacked a turkey to the side and sliced it in half.

"Banzai!" Executioner leaped off Chumbus's back and did a frontflip, spinning his axe at the same time. He chopped multiple turkey's in half and laughed, "I guess you can say, I gobbled that turkey up."

"Just stop dude," Chumbus said via telepathy. He swooped down and ate a ton of turkeys. "Agh! It's raw!" Chumbus spit them out.

"What did you expect? Fully cooked turkey?" Thomas laughed.

"This is fun!" Lizardon said as he devastated another group of turkeys.

Half an hour later, the turkeys gained weapons for some apparent reason and began to fight back.

"Um, does that turkey have an axe?" Thomas paused.

"Why does he have an axe?" Executioner looked confused. "I'm going in!" Executioner exchanged his axe with a sword and ran up to it. Executioner came in full swing and the turkey blocked it. "Guys, when did turkeys learn to fight?" Executioner disarmed it and sliced its head clean off its neck.

"There!" Chumbus pointed at a smaller turkey that was handing out weapons.

"He's mine!" Lizardon ran in a full sprint, knife ready. The turkey caught him in the corner of its eye and threw the weapons everywhere and ran off. "Aww, aren't you cute?" Lizardon smiled, "Sorry, but it's time, to, die?" The turkey grew to a massive one, spawning muscles and strength. Veins popped out of the turkey's overgrown muscles.

"Eww what is that?" Chumbus gagged.

"A turkey?" Lizardon backed up.

"I am more than a turkey! I am Master Turkey!" Master Turkey bellowed in a very deep voice. A giant sword materialized in his hand, and an a giant axe in the middle.

"I'm still bigger!" Chumbus grinned as he came in for the kill.

"Get out pesky reptile," Master Turkey smacked Chumbus across the room with his axe, and had forced him to transform back to normal. "You all shall pay for killing my brethren!" Master Turkey took a giant swing at Thomas, who stood in shock.

"Thomas move!" Lizardon looked back as he sprinted over to Chumbus. The sword inched closer and closer to decapitating the ginger's head.

"He said move!" Executioner tackled him seconds before the sword had been in place of where his head was.

"T-Thanks," Thomas unfroze and got up. He used a green arrow and re-equipped something stronger. "I've been waiting to use this," He grinned. His armor came off and something stronger came on. It had dark pins all over it, and in the middle stood a Canadian flag. It looked heavyweight, but was classified as lightweight and Thomas sped around the room. His re-equipped his sword too, a brand new cyan sword the bursted with orange flames. "Come at me," Thomas grinned as he had unleashed Hell's Fury, a twenty-five hit combination hit streak only available to those who had Hell's Armor and Sword.

"Whoa, he might be stronger than Heruseus and Osra combined!" Chumbus got up, mouth hung open.

"Probably," Lizardon stared in awe at such a rare sight.

"I can't believe it, I thought no-one else could beat a twenty-hit combination, but here's Thomas beating it by five," Executioner said as he slashed away another turkey.

"Like this thing? I found it our last loot hunt," Thomas smiled widely. "I've been trying to find the perfect moment to pop it out," Thomas did a backflip to end the combo, but Master Turkey slapped him aside.

"Thomas!" Lizardon finished healing Chumbus, and ran over to Thomas as fast as he could. His health was barely scratched.

"I'm fine, go back to Justin, I'll hold him off," Thomas gave him a thumbs up and ran straight to Master Turkey.

"Executioner get the rest of the turkeys! They stopped spawning!" Lizardon said as he healed Chumbus.

"This is the end!" Thomas shouted. After his insane hit combination, he triggered the second level, Hell's Wrath, a fifty hit combination.

"This guy's insane," Chumbus muttered as Lizardon wrapped his arm.

"Hey, what did you expect, he's Osra's friend," Lizardon smiled.

"Now you're dead!" Thomas screamed as he ended his fifty-combo hit with his charged attack. He leaped off the back of Master Turkey and did another backflip to add style and shot down like a missile. "Hell's Rabidity!" He screamed as he shot through the oversized turkey. He came out the other end covered in digital blood. As he landed he fainted due to the immense power he had released.

"All the turkey's are dead," Executioner giggled as he looked at the carnage around him.

Congratulations! You completed the event! As your reward you will receive the only turkey in the game! Enjoy!

"We better get back, Thomas is out like a light," Lizardon said as tried to carry him. "Damn, this armor's heavy," Lizardon said as he tried to lift him.

"Don't worry, we should teleport back any second now," Chumbus walked over with his cast.

"I got loot!" Executioner said as he equipped Turkey Armor. He smelled of raw turkey, and he began to lose health.

"Take it off take it off!" Lizardon covered his nose.

"Dude, throw that away, burn it with something just no," Chumbus shook his head.

"Sorry," Executioner grinned as he took off the negative armor. They all teleported as he threw it. Immediately, a blinding purple light surround them,,transporting them back to the cabin.

"Ugh what is this?" P.G. gagged, for the foul armor had fallen atop of her.

"That's uhh, turkey," Lizardon giggled.

"Gross," P.G. stuttered as she threw the turkey outside.

"Is Thomas okay?" Osra said as he ran downstairs, he had a small beard on.

"Josh! Give me the beard!" Mel shouted as she stomped into the room.

"Shh, that's not important, I prayed they come back safe," Osra told her and turned around to Thomas who was lying on the floor, armor and all.

"No, way," Charles muttered. "Is that Hell armor?" Charles stood shocked in disbelief.

"Yep," Chumbus put his arm on Osra, "you have a very strong friend."

Osra walked over to his unconscious body and checked his status. He sighed with relief, "He'll be fine, the legendary armor accepted him, so he'll wake up later." Osra picked him up and set him on the couch. "Dang, I hope that's the armor," Osra huffed.

"You guys get the turkey?" Mel said after ripping off Osra's fake beard.

"Right here," Lizardon said as he dug into his inventory and pulled out a huge turkey, big enough to leave everyone full, and lots of leftovers.

"I'll get cooking," P.G. smiled as she heated the oven.

An hour later, the thanksgiving table was set. The light became dimmer, but no-one did fret. Friends, now family gathered around. They all stared at the rare turkey more than ten pounds.

Osra stood up to give a prayer, "Here's to Lord Edgar! Our Lord and our Savior!"

Mel stood up too, and smacked him to splatoon, "We thank all for the food we have received, and we thank all to those who lead. We wish those passed, and those deceased, to have a good Thanksgiving feast!" Mel sat down and sliced the beast, giving all to her family and those in need. "Have a great day, to one we enjoy, I have a great family, and so forth we rejoice!" Mel cheered. Everyone clapped and enjoyed the roast turkey.


	12. Chapter 12: Enter The Darkness

**Chapter 12: Enter the Darkness**

 _A week after Thanksgiving, Akino Baku decided to make things a little more interesting. Everyone constantly stayed in for protection, and no-one has made it out of the maze yet. All those have either given up, or died trying. He decided to play with the players with his own little experiment._

"Heruseus wake up!" Charles slammed open his door, "Breakfast is ready!"

"I'm up!" He yawned and look to the other bed in his room. He saw Osra had already gotten up, which was normal. Heruseus got up and stretched out his limbs.

"Hurry up slowpoke, everyone's waiting," Charles shouted.

"Alright, alright, I'll be right there," Heruseus said, sluggishly. He fell down the stairs, because he wasn't fully awake.

"The Almighty Heruseus everybody!" Pyrus laughed, but nobody joined him.

"Alright, now that everyone's here we have some serious matters to discuss," Chumbus opened a picture window, and turned it around for everyone to see. "Last night, I snapped a picture of a mysterious hooded figure near our food storage. I went back to check, but he was gone. Before you say I was just tired, we lost all of our turkey supply, along with a huge chunk of our water supply has been stolen too," Chumbus pointed to a slim figure that looked a lot like Heruseus.

"Dude that's Heruseus," Lizardon pointed at the darkened blond hair in the picture.

"That's not me guys. I was up all night playing chess with Chumbus," Heruseus stated with bacon in his mouth.

"Eww, don't talk with your mouth full, and yes he was. He lost every time, but yeah we played chess a majority if the night," Chumbus sipped a little of his orange juice.

"Well who else could it be?" P.G. asked.

"Possibly another player?" Pyrus asked.

"Possibly, all I know is that we definitely were not the first ones here. One skill was missing when we got here out of ten, so someone has been here before," Osra said as he cracked his neck.

"Can't be monster right? The barrier is there," Executioner shrugged.

"Maybe it's a Steedly," Thomas glared at the picture.

"No, not likely, please no," Chumbus said.

"He had like three brothers, and one sister, so it is a possibility," Osra rubbed his head.

"No more Steedlys, please," Mel whined.

"Yeah, it definitely wouldn't be the best," Thomas shrugged and ate an egg.

"We'll just have to wait for tonight, he might comeback," Chumbus bit into his toast. A tiny scream came from the toast and Chumbus backed up.

"Alright then everybody carry out your normal chores," Osra shrugged.

The day passed by quickly, and it was already night. Chumbus set a trap near the pantry, along with an alarm. Everyone went to sleep, well tried. P.G. activated her cloaking armor, Dust, and hid on the roof. Pyrus watched her from his room, and also kept an eye on the trip wire Chumbus set up.

Two hour passed by and the mysterious hooded figure came back. The person did a back flip over the trip wire and opened the pantry. P.G. silently watched, but another figure stood beside her. Pyrus rushed up there instantly.

"Drop the arrow dude," Pyrus aimed his fire at him. The person's eyes widened and turned around. P.G. deactivated Dust and turned around.

"I'm not a dude," The person said with a high-pitched voice. She released the arrow towards Pyrus, but he easily dodged out of the way. The girl began running until P.G. used her vines to wrap her up. "You have to leave!" She shouted to someone. "If you get caught the whole thing is over!" She shouted again.

"Who are you talking to?" Pyrus asked, ready to set her ablaze.

"None of your business!" The girl screamed. Pyrus took off her hoodie, and saw a girl who looked a lot like Charles.

"Let Caroline go," Another girl rose onto the roof. It was the same one who took the supplies, "and nobody gets hurt." The girl took out a lighting tome.

"Who says I won't hurt you?" Pyrus glared.

"Don't mess with Thea, you'll regret it," Caroline grunted.

"Pyrus, don't make any rash movements," P.G. grunted, trying to keep Caroline trapped.

"Thea, you better go, Josh is gonna freak out," Caroline told her.

"He can wait," Thea blasted Pyrus off the roof.

"Westin!" P.G. screamed.

"He's fine," Chumbus rose up in his Dragon form. "Now you girls will be taken in for questioning," Chumbus started, "you have no choice."

"He's just like Justine," Thea backed up.

Chumbus transformed back into his human form and tied up Thea before she could do anything. He went over to Caroline and tied her up too. Pyrus glared at Thea and took off her hood.

He backed up in shock, "You look a lot like Theo."

"Ehh, you're right, but we'll question them immediately, so don't worry about it," Chumbus said, transforming into his Beast form. He grabbed the two and threw them into his room, where Osra and Heruseus waited.

"There are two?" Heruseus asked.

"Yep, Pyrus caught the other one," Chumbus pointed at Caroline.

"Yep, all me!" Pyrus laughed.

"Whoa, she does look like Theo," Osra said, disgusted. "Not pretty at all," Osra giggled.

"Shut it Osra," Heruseus slapped him.

"Josh! Is that you? Babe, what are you doing here?" Thea stared at Osra.

"Babe?" Chumbus looked at him.

"Hey, I don't know her," Osra shrugged.

"Yes you do! You're our leader! You're my boyfriend," Thea shouted.

"Uhh, what?" Heruseus smirked.

"Guys, I seriously don't know her!" Osra shouted. Chumbus shushed him, and reminded him to stay quiet.

"Babe, we slept with each other two nights ago!" Thea glared.

"Yep, definitely Theo," Osra nodded his head.

"Look, we don't know you, we definitely don't like you stealing our supplies," Heruseus brought out his sword, "so tell me why I shouldn't kill you."

"Ask him! He ordered us to!" Thea looked at Osra.

"Enough shenanigans! Look, state who you are and where you came from," Chumbus glared.

"I-I don't know, I can't remember," Thea stuttered. Osra untied her and quickly checked her health. "I knew you were acting!" She giggled. She kissed him and drew her sword.

"I am forever scarred," Osra muttered. He shook his head and told her, "Look, I didn't set you free, and I surely didn't want to kiss you, even though that was pretty good," Osra shook his head again. "But, you're not a player, or a program, what are you?" He asked. He tied her back down.

"I-I can't remember," Thea stuttered.

"I can't either," Caroline finally spoke up.

"False programs?" Chumbus asked.

"No, it's not possible, how can there be a program like this in the game?" Osra asked quietly.

There was a huge boom, and the wall flashed immortal object. Osra looked up and said, "We're under attack."

"They're here," Caroline smiled.

Osra, Chumbus, and Pyrus rushed outside to see a group of people that resembled The Hearts of Light. They had told Heruseus and P.G. to watch the two.

"Let Thea and Caroline go, or you guys are in for a rumble," The leader spoke.

"So, you must be Josh," Osra stated.

"And you must also be Josh, or Osra," Josh glared.

"Hey bro, what do we do?" A tall boy with blond hair, and a face resembling Mel asked him.

"If they don't let Thea and Caroline go, we take them by force," Josh told him.

"Don't worry, we're right here," Thea emerged from the front door.

"Your people are so easy to manipulate," Caroline laughed as they leaped onto the roof.

"What did you do to Heruseus?!" Chumbus shouted.

"He's fine, I put him and the other girl to sleep, they just untied us," Caroline smirked as she joined them.

"Don't mess with us Osra, give us what we ant, and we may spare you," Josh laughed, "We are the Hearts of Darkness, and we'll cover you in eternal darkness!"

"Josh what's going on?" Mel came out, nothing but her normal clothes on.

"We have company," Osra looked at the group of people.

"Whoa! Hot babe alert! Look at that blondie!" The male version of Mel whistled.

"Oh, you're gonna get it!" Osra leaped into the air, ready to attack. The boy pointed his sword at him and blasted him back to the ground.

"Oh, poor little copy too weak to handle my sound waves?" The boy laughed. "Let's go girl, get up here," He motioned Mel to join them.

"Like I would ever," Mel scowled.

"It's not over, don't talk to her like some chick you can get off the street!" Osra got up and shot water at him.

"If you wanna fight bro, let's do it!" The boy reflected the water with his sword and jumped to the ground.

"Let's go Jersey Shore reject," Osra readied his sword.

The boy shot a sound wave, but Osra leaped over it. He smirked and muttered, "Too slow." He leaped into the air, right behind Osra, and whispered, "Ka-boom." He blasted him into a nearby wall, and he fell unconscious.

"Osra!" Chumbus ran over to him, "Mel heal him quickly!"

"Not on my watch," The boy boomed Chumbus back into the house, causing him to fall unconscious also. "Let's go babe, I know you want the full package," The boy smirked.

"Matt, leave her, we got what we came for," Josh told him.

"Whatever dude," Matt joined them back on the roof.

"We can't leave her awake," A girl said.

"Right," Caroline twisted her hand, and Mel fell asleep instantly. "All taken care of Justine," Caroline smirked.

"Let's go," Justine transformed into a cat-like beast like Chumbus, and sped off.

"Right," Everyone muttered as they followed.

Pyrus silently followed them, when they moved twenty feet away, he would move ten feet closer.

"Man, what a bunch of weaklings," Matt sighed.

"Hearts of Light? More like Farts of Fart," Justine laughed.

"Hey, at least they tried," Thea laughed.

"Man, did you see that honey-bunny though? Mhm mhm! She looked ready to eat!" Matt smiled.

"Weirdo," Caroline laughed.

"We're almost there," A girl resembling Lizardon said.

"Hey Lucy," Josh said, "You think they have another Thea?"

"I don't know, actually, we seemed to be switched, that blond girl is a female form of Matt, but personality seems to be the opposite. It's possible their Thea is a boy," Lucy stated.

"Explain Osra," Josh muttered.

"I really don't know, it might just be on chance," Lucy shrugged.

"Hey, did you see a female version of me?" A boy resembling Executioner asked shyly.

"No Evan, there were only four we saw, and Thea and Caroline saw two more," Josh paused. "Wait, there were four, what happened to the fourth one?" Josh stopped.

Pyrus froze, and crouched down. _They're ten feet away, they can't possibly, aw crap._ Caroline looked in his direction.

"Check behind that box, I sense a player," Caroline pointed towards his direction.

"Hello, uhh, lady," Pyrus smiled as Lucy walked besides him.

"Well, what do we do?" Lucy asked. "He looks a lot like Westin," Lucy said as a boy similar to Pyrus looked at him.

"Well I guess it's all luck then," Evan shrugged.

"Take him with us, he'll act as bait," Josh grinned.

The next morning, Mel woke up where she fell asleep. She remembered what happened and rushed over to Osra and began to heal him. He still slept, soundly like a baby. Mel stared at his face, beat up, and bloody. She whispered, "I'll clean ya up, don't worry." She began to heal him, watching as his health slowly regenerated. She ran her fingers through his long hair he forgot to cut, and sat him up straight. She smiled and went over to Chumbus.

"Mel? What happened?" Rachel asked.

"The Hearts of Darkness have shown themselves," Mel told her as she finished healing Chumbus.

"Darkness?" Rachel asked.

"Yeah, we'll show them the light. We'll show them the burning feeling once you've stayed in the dark too much," Mel healed herself and cracked her back. She went inside and into Heruseus's room, where he lied on the floor sleeping too.

"Damn, they got Osra and Heruseus?" Rachel said in awe.

"Yeah, this guy, Matt I think, wiped away Josh like he was a bug," Mel said as she healed Heruseus. She went over to P.G., and healed her too. She got up and said, "They're strong, but our bonds are stronger." She smiled and went down stairs.

She begun to cook breakfast, and then Osra walked in and cracked his neck. He groaned, "Man that guy is a piece of crap.

"Says the one who got his butt kicked," Mel laughed.

"Yeah, laugh and laugh, thanks for the heal," Osra smirked.

"No problem, here taste this, I'm trying something new," Mel spooned out a piece of egg and put some sauce on it.

"Mhm, this is the bomb!" Osra's eyes widened, "I'm going to blow up!"

"Okay, now you have to wait for everyone else," Mel laughed.

"Big sis, did Mel tell you about The Hearts of Darkness?" Osra turned around and asked.

"Yeah, and they sound pretty strong," Rachel put down her book. "Wiped away like a bug huh?" Rachel laughed.

"Really Mel?" Osra turned around and laughed.

"Hey, you can't deny what's true!" Mel laughed.

"What do we tell the group?" Rachel asked.

"We tell them what happened. We're just going to have to wait though," Mel shrugged.

"So yeah, these guys are really strong, and we're going to need to get stronger," Mel explained to the whole group.

"Damn, wiped them both out?" Lizardon said as he grabbed some eggs. "These are really good by the way," He said as he stuffed his mouth.

"Yeah, and thanks," Mel sighed.

"It wasn't fair! She controlled my brain!" Heruseus pouted.

"Wait, if Caroline is female Charles, does that mean you can manipulate people?" Osra looked at Charles.

Charles sighed and said, "Yes, I can I gained the skill last week." He held up his hand and his eyes turned white. He controlled Heruseus and made him walk into a wall. "I can also make people fall asleep, and wake up, along with a way to monitor them without them knowing, and to control them from a far," Charles sighed again. "I wanted to surprise all of you, but I guess she ruined it," Charles smiled and sat down.

"Thanks, my head hurts," Heruseus rubbed the spot where he hit his head.

"How did you get the skill?" Executioner asked?

"I dunno, I just woke up with it," Charles shrugged.

"Wait, where's my brother?" P.G. got up.

"Crap," Chumbus said.

"He might have followed them," Osra's eyes widened.


	13. Chapter 13: Plans

**Author's Note: Please bare with me, I am very sorry. Especially after things are getting a little interesting for the Hearts. I'm uploading now, so don't worry. I should be getting my CPU back soon, and yeah. See you guys around!**

* * *

 **Chapter 13: Plans**

"You marked them right?" Josh asked Caroline.

"Yep, I'm listening to their conversation right now," Caroline smiled. Her eyes grew wider once she saw Charles do the same magic she used. "One of them can use my magic," Caroline said in shock. "He just removed my vision, this guy's insane.," Caroline blinked.

"Who?" Matt asked.

"Oh, I probably know," Pyrus smirked.

"A boy with short brown hair and he looks like me," Carolina stood shocked.

"That's no surprise, the other boy, Chumbus, can transform like Justine," Thea told them.

"You guys are scared," Pyrus laughed. "They'll hunt you guys down," Pyrus smirked.

"Shut up prisoner," Westin slapped him.

"But, dude that chick was hot," Matt laughed.

"Dude, you do know that's alternate you right?" Josh asked him.

"So? That makes it hotter," Matt nodded.

"We're here," Lucy told them.

"Nice base," Pyrus grinned, "too bad we have to destroy it."

"Whatever idiot, shut up and sleep," Carolina put him to sleep with ease.

"Now that he's asleep, what do we do with the other Hearts?" Lucy asked.

"They know we've been stealing, so why not just eliminate all of them?" Thea asked.

"Great idea babe," Josh said as he gave her a long kiss.

"Get a room you two!" Carolina laughed.

"I was scared I lost you for a second," Josh ran his fingers through her hair as he hugged her.

"I was fine, you didn't have to bring the whole guild," Thea laughed.

"Hey, better safe than sorry," Josh blushed.

"Hey, I love you," Thea looked into his eyes.

"I love you too," Josh stared back. "Nothing will hold us down, even if they get in the way, they are going to hell," Josh let go and looked at a picture of Osra.

"Man, you should've seen the male version of me," Thea laughed, "I looked like a bird's nest."

"I can't imagine that, because you're so gorgeous," Josh giggled.

"Hello? Anyone there? We're discussing our tactic here," Justine laughed.

"Oh," Thea blushed.

"Right," Josh blushed too.

"Well," Justine layed out a map of the cabin. "I want Ryan, Kane, and Karen to assist Jamie, Jake, Anthony, and Josephine draw their attention near the lake. While they're causing the distraction, Thomasine, Lucy, Hayden and Evan loot everything in the cabin. We'll use Mr. Pyrus here as a threat just incase they disagree of our "trade", but it won't be Pyrus, it'll be Westin. I also want to surround them, so Matt and Caroline take the left while Thea and Josh take the right. Kyle, and I'll take the front. Don't let anyone pass you, and we leave in five days. I want them to hunt for their own little fireball," Justine smiled.

"Wait," Josh said, "someone needs to stay and watch Pyrus, just incase anyone comes after him."

"I'll do it," A girl with ginger hair said. "Lucy, Hayden, and Evan should be enough," She said.

"Alright, Thomasine stays and we all go close up the light," Justine smiled.

"Alright, let's get to training, we can't manage to lose anyone in this war," Josh ordered.

"I'm going to sleep," Justine muttered.

"Nope, everyone training! Now!" Josh shouted and everyone left outside.

Pyrus stirred and squinted his eyes. He looked at the screen they left open. He snapped a picture of it with his eyes, and realized what it was. His digital pupils tried to capture the whole thing, but from the angle he was at he could barely see the bottom, which was the front.

 _I need to get out, and warn everyone._ Pyrus looked around for a sharp edge or something. In the corner of his eye spotted a broken piece of glass. He waddled over to it and began cutting. After a while, he broke free and stood up thinking, _Magnificent as always._ He stood up and snapped a picture of all the arrows on the map. He quickly opened his messaging board and sent it to Chumbus, along with a warning.

 **Chumbus: Dude where are you? Are you okay?**

 **Pyrus: I'm fine. Did you see the picture?**

 **Chumbus: Yeah what is it**

 **Pyrus: They are planning to jump you guys they tied me up and knocked me out**

 **Chumbus: I see,**

 **Are you okay? Where are you?**

 **Don't worry, charles put a tracking device on everyone last week we're coming**

 **Pyrus: No not yet, I'll spy for a little while**

 **I heard them say they're coming in five weeks i think, but don't count on my word**

 **Chumbus: alright, just message when your ready**

 **Pyrus: gtg they coming**

Pyrus shut off his screen, and sat down where he was supposed to be. He grabbed the rope and put it over him. He closed his eyes, pretending to be asleep.

"Looks like pyro is still knocked out," Matt panted.

"Weird, I didn't even put him asleep for that long," Caroline shrugged.

"You have thirty seconds!" Josh shouted.

"Coming!" The both of them shouted.

They came back from their break into the training room. Pyrus peeked around from the corner, stared in awe at the huge room. There were training dummies made of sewed clothing plastered all around in one side, while the other was separated specifically for sparring. Weapons lied and hung all over the room. He was shocked already they had found another Calm Room, he thought there was only one. His pupils grew once he realized that they too received Last Chance Skills.

"Your form is sloppy!" Josh smacked Matt and fixed his posture.

"Go a little easy on him! He's trying!" Lucy whined.

"You shouldn't be speaking right now," Thea shouted at her, "go run five laps!"

"Five?" Lucy asked.

"Leave her alone Josh," Matt broke his position, "punish me instead." Matt looked to the side. Lucy blushed and hugged him.

"Fine," Josh glared, "Ten slashes, no heal till you're done with training."

"That takes him down to ten percent!" Lucy spoke again.

"Do you want to split that with him?" Josh shouted.

"No, leave Lucy alone, I can take it," Matt frowned.

"Matthew!" Lucy hugged him.

"Don't worry Luce, I'll be fine," Matt looked at her. He gave her a kiss and took off his shirt, revealing a six pack. He turned his back and embraced for impact. Josh grabbed a steel sword and slashed him in the back eight times. He stopped as he dropped to twenty percent.

"Go, take a heal too, we're done here," Josh muttered as he put away his sword. Lucy ran over to him and healed him quickly. She wiped away all the blood that made its way out of his back.

"I'm so sorry!" Lucy told him.

"I-It's fine, try not speak out for me okay?" Matt spat blood.

"Look, I've had feelings for you for a while do you want to pair up?" Lucy muttered. She blushed and looked away shyly.

"Hey it's fine," Matt smiled, "I've always loved you too." Lucy blushed and then smiled as she looked at him.

Josh walked into the room, and Pyrus ran to his position.

"You're getting soft Josh," Thea laughed.

"Shush, I didn't want to hurt Matt, he's my best friend anyway, I can't injure one of my best before a battle," Josh mumbled. Thea hugged him from behind, and kissed his cheek.

"C'mon, let's get to our room," Thea smiled, and held his hand.

"I'll be right there," Josh smiled and turned to Pyrus. "Damn Caroline, how long did you put him through?" He tapped his face and asked.

"Wasn't long, maybe he's a heavy sleeper?" Caroline said as she dried her hair.

"No, I don't think so," Josh glared and slapped him, "Wake up, I know you cut your restraints." Pyrus opened his eyes and kicked him. Josh stumbled back and Pyrus grabbed his fire tome and ran. He remembered where he came from, for they didn't hide it.

"Pyrus escaped! All units full force!" Josh shouted as he got back up.

Pyrus ran around all Fallen enemies and didn't stop for anything. Westin caught up to him and tackled him down.

"I'm not letting some copy take me down!" Pyrus screamed as he used his fire to scorch him until he was charred black. A Last Chance orb floated above his remains, and Pyrus continued running.  
"Almost," He panted, "there." He saw the light coming from the cabin.

"Not so fast buddy," Justine caught up to him. "Oh, you've only made your situation worse," Justine impaled him with one of her claws, and tore him in half with the other. His eyes filled with tears, and blood spewed everywhere. "Humans are weak," Justine laughed as she ran back to alert the others.

"If we go now, we can catch up to them and get Pyrus back," Heruseus grabbed his sword.

"Then what? Fight all of them? We don't even know where they went," Chumbus glared and forced his sword out of his hand.

"He's right, we can't dive in first," Mel stated.

"Look, I say we devise a plan," Chumbus told them.

"Wait," Charles spoke, "They're watching us, not now, but they were. I sense it."

"How?" Heruseus asked.

"Through you," Charles looked into Heruseus's eyes. "Hold on," Charles grabbed his head and his eyes turned white. Charles grunted and coughed. "That witch put up a fight, but P.G. she marked you too," Charles let Heruseus go, and he fainted.

"Alright, just get her out of me," P.G. let him touch her forehead. She fainted as well.

"They'll be fine," Charles coughed up blood.

"Are you okay?" Chumbus caught him as he fell backwards.

"I'll be fine, I'm just tired," Charles panted.

"You marked all of two nights ago right?" Executioner asked.

"Right," Charles muttered.

"Can you somehow track him?" Executioner suggested.

"Yeah, and I could see through his eyes, along with a generating a map of his surrounding area. I'm printing out a map right now," Charles said as he sent the picture to the printer.

"Damn, how did they find another Safe Room?" Lizardon muttered as he analyzed the map.

"These guys are good," Osra shook his head, "whatever, Justin, plan please."

"Alright, we use Pyrus to lead us to them, which will give us an arrow to where he is and we can infiltrate their base. I want Rachel, Kate, and Keith to assist James, Jane, Annie, and Johnny as a distraction near the back of the room. Next, Thomas, Lizardon, Hayden, and Executioner infiltrate the building to get Pyrus out. Some might be wanting to escape, and I want to make them feel scared by surrounding them, so Heruseus and Charles take left flank, while Mel and Osra take right. P.G. and I will take the front. We leave in a week, we all have some training to do," Chumbus stated. He drew arrows throughout the map.

"Alright we all have some training due immediately!" Osra shouted, "Everyone into the maze, we need to pulverise them."

"I'll be right there, I need my dragonstone," Chumbus muttered.

"Don't be napping, I'm dead serious, you saw how strong Matt was," Osra told him.

"Right," Chumbus ran upstairs and received the messages from Pyrus and analyzed the picture. His eyes widened as he saw a layout of the attack. _The only person who can come up with this is me, so this must be my alternative. Damn, he or she didn't layout the names. Five weeks? That's too long, they know well enough they can wipe us out easily. Maybe five days, the sounds logical to me, so it must be right. We should wait for them to come to us, we'll be ready._

"Chumbus are you sleeping?" Osra came upstairs.

"No, look at this, Pyrus is okay," Chumbus waited for the print-out, and showed him the map layout.

"No way," Osra's jaw dropped as he saw the plan they planned on doing.

"Go, gather everyone, we need a new plan," Chumbus told him.

"Okay everyone look at this," Chumbus layed out the map of the enemies' tactic. "This is a map of our cabin. The Hearts of Darkness plan to attack five days from now with this tactic," Chumbus continued. "Seem familiar? Yes, this is one similar to the one we plan on attacking them. So devised a new one that will hold up against their attack. The Lake battle will commence and the same people who originally used as distraction and infiltration will hold position along the lake. Everyone else will go as plan, but we don't leave our positions. No matter what! If someone is injured you have other opponents to deal with. If they try to lead you out, stay in, don't leave. Hold your position at all costs," Chumbus said with determination.

"Right, what if someone dies," Executioner asked.

"There's nothing we can do about it," Chumbus frowned.

"We should get training, we only have five days," Lizardon stated.

"He's right," Charles nodded, "we need to get stronger. I can already feel their power."

"Guys!" Justine ran back to them. "I killed him! He won't be a threat anymore," She grinned.

"Did you make sure he actually died?" Josh shouted.

"Shoot," Justine ran back as quickly as possible. She stopped and roared, "Stop right there!"

"Lizardon to the left!" Heruseus shouted as he dodged a blow from a captain and blasted it with lightning.

"Oh shiznits!" Lizardon rolled to the right and avoided a death blow from another Captain. He shoved a knife in his face ran off.

"Pay attention, the darkness will take every chance they get to kill you. Even if they're out of sight," Heruseus warned him.

"Hey there's a last chance skill over there," Chumbus ran over to it and read the username. "Guys! It's Pyrus!" He poked the floating orb.

"Stop right there!" Justine roared.

"Ah, so you're my digital copy," Chumbus stared blankly.

"Digital?" Justine asked.

"Yep, it all makes sense why you guys aren't even classified as programs, or players," Chumbus grinned as he turned into his beast form.

"Whatever," Justine growled. "Bring it kitty," she bared her fangs.

"You're on puppy," Chumbus growled as the pounced on her. Chumbus grinned as Heruseus had finished the process in reviving Pyrus.

"Damn, I thought I died. Thanks for taking so long," Pyrus coughed.

"Whatever, keep your eyes peeled, you're not safe yet," Chumbus told him via telepathically.

"Right," Pyrus grabbed his fire tome and stepped besides Chumbus. He saw Westin standing besides Justine and grunted, "I thought I burned you to bits."

"Thought," Westin smirked.

"Then I'll do it again!" Pyrus and Chumbus leaped into the air. Chumbus smashed into Justine, who launched him back off. Pyrus did a backflip to dodge Westin's water, and blasted him with fire once more. Westin stumbled over, shaken by the fire. "It's over!" Pyrus leaped into the air and said, "Burn here and forever!" He threw a giant fireball towards Westin, who stood dazed. Westin was immediately consumed by the intense flames of the fireball.

"Westin!" Justine screamed. "You little piece of crap!" She leaped into the air and curled into a ball.

"You're not activating a critical any time soon!" Chumbus tackled her. "I'm your opponent! So keep your eyes on me!" Chumbus threw her against the ceiling, and impaled her.

"I'm not done with you!" Justine shouted as she transformed into a demon.

"No way!" Chumbus stumbled back. "A demon stone! Chumbus want," Chumbus tackled her to the ground.

"This is will be too easy," Justine lifted him up and threw him against the ceiling. Chumbus growled and countered her upwards slash. Chumbus smiled like an idiot once he smashed her head immediately after. Her Last Chance skill glowed in the dim area.

"We better go, everyone might be freaking out right now," Chumbus took her demon stone and put it away, "there might be more coming too."

"Thank you're alive! We thought you guys," Everyone spoke as they hugged them.

"Look what I got!" Chumbus took out his slightly used demon stone.

"How?" Heruseus asked.

"He took down Justine and took her stone. I also killed off Westin," Pyrus smiled slightly, "for good."

"You do mean Dark Westin right?" Mel asked.

"Yeah, it was like looking into a mirror, but he was set ablaze by my awesomeness," Pyrus laughed.

"That idiot smashed my head before I could do anything, and stole my demon stone!" Justine said as she arrived back at the base.

"What else happened?" Josh asked.

"They killed Westin," Justine said softly. A moment of silence.

"We're leaving tomorrow," Josh glared at the map.

"Are you sure?" Matt asked.

"They won that battle but not the war," Justine nodded her head

"We leave for them tomorrow. No exceptions, these guys are getting dangerous," Thea glared


	14. Chapter 14: The Lake Skirmish

**Chapter 14: The Lake Skirmish**

"You have my lance?" Matt asked Lucy.

"Yeah," Lucy assured him.

"Keep it," Matt said as he put a shirt on, "use it for self-defense."

"I can't use it, I don't have a lance skill," Lucy told him, "plus, it's your strongest weapon. I'm pretty sure Melody doesn't even have a lance."

"Here," Matt transferred his skill to Lucy. "I would give you my Last Chance, but Josh wouldn't allow me. I can't stay with you for this, but Josh's orders are strict. Fight your best, and just scream if you need me," Matt kissed her and continued putting his armor on. He looked at her and said, "I love you."

"You guys ready?" Osra asked the lake group.

"Going to be honest," Pyus exhaled, "Dying was scary, and I'm not ready. But if I need to fight for my family, then I'm ready."

"Well said dude," Executioner patted him on the back.

"He's right," Osra said and turned around, "we don't fight as comrades, but as family."

"I'm still scared," Heruseus said, breath shaken, "Even their Charles wiped me away like nothing."

"Don't be," Chumbus smiled. "We'll make it bro, don't think, just fight," Chumbus raised his fist.

"Right, that's the first I'll ever hear you say that," Heruseus laughed.

"Whatever cools your jets," Chumbus smiled.

"Alright guys one more time," Mel said as she put a heart over her left eye, "We are The Hearts of Light!"

"We are The Hearts of Light!" Everyone shouted.

"Wait, Justine," Caroline felt her forehead. "Chumbus marked you, Charles has been watching. They know we're coming early," Caroline removed the tag.

"Doesn't change anything," Josh said as he grabbed his armor, "We still go, Justine needs her demon stone anyway."

"No, I have something stronger, but yeah, it wouldn't change anything," Justine said as she put on her armor.

"Everyone ready?" Josh asked.

"Oh, we're going to smash those ants," Matt smiled.

"Let's go, stick to planning," Josh smiled.

"Alright guys," Matt put a fist over his heart, "We are The Hearts of Darkness, we squash all within the light!"

"We are The Hearts of Darkness! We squash all within the light!" Everyone shouted.

"Stop right there," Evan shouted.

"Huh?" Josh looked at him.

"Over there," Evan pointed to the ceiling, "an assassin."

"No-way! They're one of the rarest classes in the game!" Matt squealed.

"Reveal yourself," Thea shouted, "or die."

A charming boy with brown hair to his chin appeared in the corner of the roof, glaring. He frowned and asked, "How did you see me?"

"You moved a little bit," Evan said.

"Okay," The boy said, "how will you catch me?" The boy vanished into air and appeared at the door.

"With our golden demon," Lucy smirked.

"Huh? Oh, right," Justine transformed into a golden demon. Spikes poked out her joints and her teeth turned into fangs. She also grew taller than before, and her face emerged with scaly skin where it should have been.

"Suckers," The boy laughed. "Now to get this information to players for some cash, then I can help Ryan," He kept running until Justine caught him, and held him by the throat.

"Now tell me why I shouldn't tear off your head," Justine growled, voice scraggy.

"R-Ryan," The boy turned blue.

"Justine that's enough! You're going to kill him!" Kyle screamed. She didn't let go, so he tackled her. The handsome boy gagged and coughed, gasping for air.

"You're dead!" Justine growled and got ready to pierce his body.

"Hey! Justine wait! Calm down!" Josh shouted. He grabbed her hand, and Justine regained control of herself.

"W-What am I doing?" Justine stuttered. She transformed back and began crying.

"You're fine, don't worry," Josh muttered.

"Now kid, explain your class, and why you spied on us," Matt said.

"Alright," The boy coughed. "My name is Clayton Park, and I became an assassin due to my friend, Ryan. He gave me a special skill called "Sneak" and another called "Quiet". These two together unlock the assassin class, and I took your information to sell. You owe me two hundred dollars now by the way. Before you ask, there was a rumor I could bring Ryan back by paying him two million dollars. May I go? Ryan needs me," Clayton explained.

"Oh," Caroline muttered.

"How can I say this nicely, but that's a lie," Thea stated.

"You're lying! That's what they all say!" Clayton shouted.

"Clayton calm down," Josh told him. "The only revival item was a skill called "Last Chance". I'm sorry, but you can't bring him back," Josh said softly.

"Ryan," Clayton said, his voice breaking. Tears rushed out his eyes, and he pointed a knife to his throat. He cried out, "I'm coming." He tried to stab himself.

"Hey," Matt stopped him, "this isn't the time to die. Ryan wouldn't want you too. This is your chance to make it up. Fight with us, a guild called The Hearts of Darkness murdered some of our players." Matt smiled, "Help us kill them, and Ryan will be proud."

"The Hearts of Darkness killed my friends Ellie and Ryan," Clayton wiped away his tears, angry, "they will suffer."

"Alright, Clayton," Josh smiled, "You will fight on the front lines with Lucy and Evan. Do your best."

"Right," Clayton said as he vanished.

"They're coming! Everyone stand your ground! We can make it!" Osra shouted.

"Correction," Clayton said, already on the porch of the cabin. "We're already here!" He stabbed P.G. and disappeared.

"There's one in the house!" Chumbus screamed.

"I see you mister," P.G. muttered and ensnared him in her vines.

"Clayton?!" Rachel screamed.

"Rachel?" Clayton's eyes widened. He cut off the vines and approached her, knife in hand. "Sorry, but you guys killed Ryan and Ellie," He glared as he disappeared once more.

"Clayton calm down!" Rachel kicked him, revealing him. "We didn't kill anyone! You're fighting for the wrong side!" Rachel screamed.

"No I swear I'm not! You are The Hearts of Darkness correct?" Clayton shouted.

"No! We're the Light! Don't let the darkness consume you! You're fighting with the wrong side! We need all the help we can get!" Rachel shouted.

"All liars," Clayton vanished, once more. He snuck up behind Pyrus, and impaled his chest. Pyrus faded with nothing he could do.

"Pyrus!" P.G. screamed. Tears flooded her eyes as she held her fading brother in her arms.

"Don't worry sis, I'll be okay," Pyrus smiled as blood trickled down his lips. He leaned upwards and kissed her cheek.

"Westin," P.G. wailed. "I'm sorry," She stabbed kissed his forehead as the broken note played. She then stabbed his fallen spot.

"Clayton calm down! We aren't lying! Don't you remember?! We were in the same guild!" Rachel asked him.

"I'm going to kill you," P.G. glared. She trapped him in her vines, and readied to release her killing move. She squeezed harder, and he grew red. She whispered, "I can't." She let go, "He seems misleaded."

Clayton fell to the floor, unconscious. Rachel tied him up and put him in her bed. She went back outside to rejoin the fight.

Executioner blocked his clone's attack and muttered, "I don't like fakes."

Evan laughed and replied, "Same here."

The two leaped into the air, and unleashed their full power. Their moves moved in sync, rejecting each other every time. Evan kicked him back and Executioner hit the side of the cabin. He got up and laughed. His pupils shrunk, and he was ready to destroy.

"I'm going to smash you!" Evan told him. "Can we get this war over with already? We already won," Evan smirked.

"You cocky son of a toaster. Correction, I am going to smash you!" Executioner smiled and slammed Evan into the lake.

"Ugh, my clothes are soaked! That's it, you're going down!" Evan screamed as they returned to blocking each other's attacks.

"Ha! You're right's open!" Executioner shouted and slammed him to the right.

Evan gritted his teeth as he slowed himself down with his hands. He sprinted back to him, and said, "Hey look at that, your left's open!" He punched him in the side, which left him wide open. He held his axe over his head, ready to execute. Hayden rushed in to shove him aside.

"That was close," Hayden muttered. He picked Executioner up. "Stay on your toes Evan!" Hayden did a backflip to dodge Hayden's attack.

"Eww my male version's ugly like heck," Female Hayden shouted.

"Shut up, like you're any better," Hayden spat. He leaped into the air and aimed directly in between her eyes. He took a breath and released. The arrow flew directly straight, but Female Hayden caught it.

"You're slow," She laughed and shot it back. The arrow grazed the side of his leg as Hayden cursed a bit.

"Try again," Hayden smirked as three arrows flew towards her. Each one directly landed in her skull, killing her in an instant. Another arrow flew and hit the ground where she faded. "Always stay four arrows ahead," Hayden laughed as he wrapped his leg. Evan whizzed passed him.

"Stay on your toes Hayden," Executioner laughed. He rushed passed him and grabbed Evan as he got up. He smacked him and smashed him against the ground. "You're going to die now!" He laughed as he spun around with his axe.

"I'm not going down that easily!" Evan rolled away from him and laughed, "You're going to die now!" He jumped in midair and spun around with his sword.

"Like I said," Executioner smile, "I hate copies." Executioner moved out of the way as Evan dug into the ground. Executioner quickly stabbed him before he could get up. A note rang as Evan faded.

"Jamie watch your right!" Jake shouted. He grabbed an arrow that whizzed by and threw it to the ground.

"Thanks," Jamie smiled and kissed Jake on the cheek.

"These alternates are weird," Jane said to James.

"Then let's get rid of them," James smiled as he shot another arrow.

"Found you," Jamie smiled and shot an arrow. The arrows collided and snapped at the same time.

"Try three!" James smiled. He fired three arrows.

"I sense a challenge," Jamie smiled as she shot three arrows as well.

"Pesky thing!" Jake said as he ran towards James.

"Where do you think you're going?" Jane smacked his back with a sword. "Eyes on me kid," Jane said as she stabbed him.

"That didn't even hurt," Jake turned around and grinned. "I'm going to slam you," Jake thrusted his giant hammer forward.

"Dang, I wouldn't have thought a skinny boy like you would have such a huge hammer," Jane laughed. "You still lose though," She ran around him and slashed his back again.

"Damn," James muttered, "she shutting down all my arrows. I'm going all out." He fired fifteen arrows.

"That's some hail storm," Jamie fired the same amount back.

"Jane watch out!" James watched as Jake threw her against the ground. He shot his last arrow, which shot through his neck.

"Wide open!" Jamie fired her last arrow too, but this time towards James. She watched him fire his arrow, and screamed, "Jake!"

"James! Six o'clock!" Jane screamed. The arrow pierced James through his chest, and left a hole in his body. "Annie! Help!" She shouted.

"Cover me, I got him," Annie rushed over and began healing as his health drained quicker and quicker.

"Anthony hurry! He isn't fading yet!" Jamie screamed.

"Alright cover me, this will take some time!" Anthony shouted.

The two girls ran towards each other, ready to attack.

"Johnny, protect me!" Annie screamed.

"What else would I do?" Johnny laughed. Annie blushed as Johnny stood in front of her.

"Joe, go take out their healer! We can't let the mixed artist come back!" Anthony told her.

"Right," Josephine said and kissed him on the cheek. "Stay safe," She told him as she ran towards Annie.

Jane and Jamie traded blows for blows, attacking each other and losing health. Jamie smacked her with the tip of her bow, and caused her to go flying. Jane landed on the roof, and charged down towards her. She blocked the attack with her bow, but that left her defenseless.

"You're done," Jane laughed as she watched her bow fall to pieces.

"Nope," Jamie revealed a dark magic tome. She trapped her in complete darkness.

"I can't see!" Jane screamed.

"That's the point," Jane muttered. As she was about to shoot her with a darkness arrow, a knife stuck into her throat. She fell down and faded away.

"The heavy armory came in!" Thomas smiled, dressed in Hell armor.

"Nice timing!" Jane smiled as her vision returned.

"So you're boy me," Thomasine glared, dressed in Heavenly armor.

"Eww are you me?" Thomas gagged.

"You're definitely not any better," Thomasine grunted.

"I'll take care of the hag don't worry, take care of their medic!" Thomas told her.

"Right!" Jane ran towards Anthony.

"Get ready for the power of the whip!" Thomas whipped and brought out his demonic sword.

"Whatever, feel the darkness!" Thomasine shouted as she sprinted towards him.

Thomasine smacked him across the lake, and Thomas got up shocked as his health went down.

"That actually hurt," Thomas grunted. He did a backflip as Thomasine charged once more. He slammed her across the river too, and sank into the ground. Thomasine got up, confused. She looked around, and then was hit from beneath her. She flew into the air as Thomas smacked her. He triggered his ultimate combo.

"Not yet!" Thomasine shouted. She smirked, for she wanted him in the air. "Heavenly light!" The air pushed him back down to the ground, sending him like a meteorite. "Angelic missile!" She said as she shot straight down.

"Wrong move," Thomas smirked. He moved out of the way and let her dig into the ground. He then swallowed her up whole, and waited for the note to ring. Thomasine bursted out of the ground, gasping for air and down to ten percent. "Time to finish this!" He shouted as he triggered his combo. He finished her off by sending her into the air, and smashing her down. As he landed, he fainted like he did last time. She faded and another note rang.

"Move aside kid!" Josephine growled as she came across Johnny.

"Over my dead body," Johnny glared.

"That can be arranged," Josephine slashed at him, but simply ran behind her.

"You're too slow!" Johnny smashed her into the hardened dirt, killing her in an instant. "That was fast," Johnny laughed.

"You're done for!" Jane shouted as she impaled Anthony. She walked over to Jake who was still bleeding out. She stared blakely the bleeding body, and left without a word. Three more notes rang one after another.

"I hope that's not ours," Matt muttered as he blocked Heruseus's attack.

"Eye's on me buddy," Heruseus said as he slashed once more.

"James is done, everyone alright?" Annie asked.

"All good here," Hayden said as he returned with Executioner.

"Yep," Jane smiled, spitting blood.

"Luke's still fighting," Johnny muttered.

"Should we help?" Hayden asked.

"He got it, let's all rest in the cabin, it's still our post right?" Executioner asked as he cracked his neck.

"Yeah, let's go," James smiled.


	15. Chapter 15: Left-Side View

**Chapter 15: Left-Side View**

 **"** Give up, you're surrounded," Matt shouted as he stood in front of Heruseus.

"You're wrong if you think we're going down without a fight," Heruseus glared and readied his sword.

"So you're the Almighty Heruseus ehh?" Matt laughed. "Small boy for such reputation. I want to see you fight," Matt pointed his sword at him.

"Bring it on sound boy," Heruseus smirked.

"So you're the one messing with my stuff," Caroline glared.

"I can assume you're the one messing with my family," Charles took out his bow.

Caroline grunted, "Just give it up. There's no chance you will win."

"That's a broad statement," Charles readied his arrow.

"Because true!" Caroline shot an arrow as Charles shot his. Charles dashed up to her as she released another arrow. Charles grabbed it, and reflected it back at her. Caroline got up and began running towards him too.

"Get blinded by the light!" Charles screamed as he took out a legendary tome.

"No way! Brightest Day? I have something else up my sleeve," Caroline smirked as she switched out her bow with the legendary tome, Darkest Night.

"Not bad not bad," Charles laughed. "I call forth the Brightest Day! The light shall shine out the dark!" Charles glared.

"I call forth the Darkest Night!" Caroline glared, "The dark will overwhelm the light!" Caroline shot a beam of black towards him, while he replied with a beam of white. "Give it up Charles! You won't make through this!"

"Try me," Charles glared as a shot another beam.

"This lance will end you!" Lucy shouted as she thrusted towards Lizardon.

"That lance sucks," Lizardon muttered as he dodged her lance.

"Your knives suck," Lucy spat back.

"You suck!" Lizardon growled.

"No," Lucy glared as she spun her lance, "you suck!"

"You hear those bells?" Lizardon asked.

"No," Lucy replied, confused.

"You'll hear them soon," Lizardon chucked a knife at her. Lucy leaped into the air and spun her lance above her head. Lizardon rolled to the left as she landed, and threw another knife. He stood up and began to sprint away.

"Not so fast dude," Lucy muttered as she followed him. He ran up the wall of the cabin and leaped off the roof. He glanced at everyone fighting on the ground, but his view was interrupted by a sharp red lance. He grabbed the tip, losing health of the same time, and launched it down. She used it as an advantage and thrusted it up, cutting off Lizardon's hand. He gripped his wrist and gritted his teeth. He caught the tip and pushed it down. She hurled into the ground, but got up with ease. Lizardon healed his hand, and wrapped it quickly. He threw a couple knives to stall time, and began sprinting again.

"Damn she's fast," Lizardon glanced back. He looked forward and did a one-handed back handspring.

"You're pretty fast yourself," Lucy grinned, "but I'm still faster." She bursted her lance through his body. Lizardon stood in slow motion as he fell back with a metal blade through his body. Blood flew out his mouth, revealing the blood on his teeth. His eyes filled with shock and fear as he fell onto the ground, staring at the lance that used his body to stand up straight. "You should have learned this before you died, but oh well," Lucy held up his Last Chance skill and absorbed it.

"Luke!" Heruseus screamed. "You," Heruseus growled and sprinted towards Lucy.

"Nah-nah-nah," Matt grinned, "eyes on me pal." He kicked him into the cabin wall and ran over to high-five Lucy. "You did great honey, that was a little harsh though, don't you think?"

"Ehh, I took his last chance skill too! He isn't coming back anytime soon!" Lucy laughed.

"He's getting up, I'll take care of this in a second!" Matt kissed her and ran off.

"I'll rip you to shreds," Heruseus's eyes glowed with anger. He charged in with his tornado attack, and transitioned with a frontflip to shoot him with lightning. "Lightning always comes faster than thunder," Heruseus zoomed behind him and flung him into the air. Before he could do anything, Heruseus cut off his arm and bashed him into the ground.

"Matt!" Lucy cried as he faded away. "You're on bird's nest!" She thrusted at him, but he dodged by rolling to the right.

"Time to kill little Lucy," Heruseus muttered, not one bit of emotion on his face. He zoomed around her in circles and rose her into the air. As she fell, he impaled her with his sword.

She faded and smiled, "I'll be back." Moments later, the two rose up together, gagging and coughing. Lizardon with them.

"That sucked," Lizardon coughed.

"How?" Lucy wheezed, stunned.

"I don't know, but it's a glimmer of hope!" Lizardon grinned and leaped into the air, and onto the roof. He darted away to find his scattered knives.

"Come back you cheating lizard!" Lucy grabbed her lance and ran after him. Shortly, a white beam of energy passed through her chest. She fell to her knees and faded away, this time not to return.

"Ha! You've dropped your guard!" Caroline laughed as she shot her black beam.

"Lucy!" Matt held her in his arms. She simply smiled as she faded slowly. She ran her fingers through his hair, and kissed him for the last time.

"Charles! Keep your eyes open!" Heruseus shouted as the black beam approached him. In a flash, the black beam shot through him like putty. Many other beams followed shortly after, piercing him one by one. Filled with rage, Matt held him up by the throat and hurled him into the ground. Heruseus kicked him aside and picked up Charles. He began to sprint to the cabin, where Lizardon waited. "Hold on buddy, you'll be fine, I promise," Heruseus said as he ran.

"Stop," Charles said weakly, "Put me down and fight."

"You'll make it buddy don't worry," Heruseus muttered as he kept moving.

"It's useless Theo! You can't change fate, I should've died in S.A.O." Charles told him. "Look, I won't make it. I'm already fading. Just watch over them okay?"

"Stop saying that crap!" Heruseus glared, dodging a thunder wave. "You'll make it! You have that skill remember?" Heruseus kept running, tears in his eyes.

Charles shook his head and pointed to Lizardon. He smiled and looked to him as he stopped, "Fight on bro, hope doesn't fade." A broken note played aloud as he faded away. Heruseus grabbed one of his arrows and stabbed the ground.

"Caroline!" Heruseus screamed in rage. He sprinted up to her and grabbed her before she could react. He held her by her neck, and tightened his grip. As she struggled to breathe, she passed her Last Chance skill to Matt. "You're not passing anyone anything," Heruseus impaled her before she could finish the process. He then held her neck even tighter and crushed it. He stared at the body on the ground fading away and muttered, "Worthless program."

"You'll pay for your doings!" Matt shouted as he boomed his way through his guard. Heruseus regained his footing and used his sword to slow himself down. Matt guarded Caroline as she rose back up, coughing and wheezing.

"Luke! Take the witch! I got surfer boy over here!" Heruseus screamed.

"Right, be careful!" Lizardon shouted.

"You too," Heruseus muttered as they stood side by side. In a flash, they both began sprinting towards the two, who were still recovering. Matt stopped what he was doing and bursted out running. Caroline shot an arrow from where she was.

"Eat knife you witch!" Lizardon shouted as he chucked a knife at her. He caught her arrow and threw it into the ground. The knife flew towards her, but she blasted it away with her Darkest Night. "I was given hope! So I will use it!" Lizardon shouted as he threw more knives.

"Enough pesky reptile! The darkness shall consume you!" Caroline shouted as she drew a dark bubble around him. He closed it, covering him in pitch-black darkness.

"Checkmate witch," Lizardon grinned as his eyes glowed white. Many knives floated around him, and bursted the bubble. Caroline backed up stunned, as he broke through the hardest material in the game. He directed his hands towards Caroline, and the knives flew straight towards her. Each knife made way through her body, and as she was about to shoot a beam, he directed the knives to cut her once more. She fell to the ground without a word, and faded. He shouted to Heruseus once she fully faded away, "I'm heading to the cabin! If you need help just yell!"

Heruseus nodded as he did a backflip away from Matt. He then slashed at him as three notes rang aloud, and Matt muttered, "I hope that's not ours."

"Eyes on me buddy," Heruseus said as he slashed more.

"Right, eyes on your open spots," Matt said as he busted through his guard once more, and boomed him across the lake. Matt then sprinted behind him as he landed and boomed him back across. Heruseus rolled onto the dock, unconscious. "Too easy," Matt smiled as he pointed his sword towards his throat.

"Hey buddy, it's not nice to kill people," Lizardon said as a knife grazed the sword as it boomed into the ground. His eyes were still glowing with power.

"Says the one who just killed someone," Matt grunted.

"So you're Matt?" Lizardon asked.

"In the digital flesh," Matt muttered.

"You wanna know something mister Matt?" Lizardon asked.

"What is poor child?" Matt smirked.

"There's a knife in your chest," Lizardon said as he directed the knives towards him.

"Knives are nothing compared to thunder waves," Matt said as he boomed the knives back.

"You're on loud mouth," Lizardon smirked as he sprinted towards him.

"Why are you wearing a hoodie?" Rachel asked. The strange hooded figure grew irritated and slashed at her. "That's not very nice, you should show your face," Rachel zoomed behind her and blasted away the hood with her lighting tome. As the figure turned around, Rachel backed up shocked, "Ryan?"

"I don't know you, nor who I am. All I know is that I must defeat you!" Ryan shouted as he disappeared.

"Another assassin," Rachel muttered. She tripped him and tied him up. "There, now to get you to Clayton," She said as she picked him up.

"Let me down stranger!" Ryan shouted.

As they arrived to the cabin, she threw him into the room with Clayton.

"Ryan?" Clayton stood shocked.

"Are you Clayton?" Ryan asked. "I-I remember you, but nothing else," Ryan said,

Clayton quickly ran up to him and kissed him, "I thought you died."

Ryan's eyes filled with tears as they kissed. He muttered, "I remember everything now."

"Tell us what happened," Executioner said as he came up the stairs, "everything."

"We were in the maze. Then Clayton left off somewhere, so it was just me and Ellie. We kept running, but these huge monsters kept attacking us," Ryan's eyes filled with tears. "Ellie died in front of me, smashed by four hammers at once. I cried, but I kept running. I ran and ran, and eventually found Clayton. He was defending from more of those huge monsters. I thought I died as I blocked an attack from one, but I'm still here," Ryan looked at his hands.

"You did die! It must be a glitch, you're still an assassin," Clayton pointed out. Clayton took out his assassin's blade.

"I have that too!" Ryan pulled out the same thing. Ryan then began to scream and everything around them pixelated, and after a while, returned to normal.

"You're a program like them, so maybe you can get rid of them," Executioner said, cracking his back.

"Maybe, but we'll need to get Chumbus," Rachel said, "he'll know."

"True," Hayden said as he rubbed his arm.

"I'll be right back, stay here and defend Ryan!" Executioner told them after receiving a message. He ran outside.

"Stop moving you speedy bastard!" Matt grunted.

"Catch me if you can!" Lizardon giggled as he leaped onto the roof.

"There's your mistake!" Matt smirked as he moved ahead of him and boomed him into the ground. Lizardon created a crater into the ground, and was covered in dirt.

"I can't move!" Lizardon muttered as the dirt covered his waist. "Armor ability!" He shouted as he was covered in a metal coating.

"Right where I want you!" Matt laughed as he blasted him repeatedly.

Lizardon sent a quick message, and began to dig around him. Metal banging shrouded his ears every time Matt struck.

"Ah-ha!" Matt smiled as he had blasted away some of the metal skin, which revealed his actual skin. "Good-bye Lizardon!" Matt said as he started the last attack.

"Nope!" Heruseus blasted him in from the side. "Not on my watch!" Heruseus growled as he defended Lizardon.

"You have to ruin everything don't you?" Matt snarled.

"I can't have you killing one of mine," Heruseus spoke. "Prepare to meet your fate!" Heruseus shouted as he filled his sword with electricity.

"Dark always beats light," Matt muttered.

"Not in this case," Heruseus shouted as he sprinted towards him. He front flipped over the first wave, then slashed at his arm. Electricity ran through his body, paralyzing him. "What now thunder boy?" Heruseus asked. He grinned as he shocked him more.

"Big boom," Matt muttered. He smirked as he dropped his sword into the ground. A light quickly erupted from the sword, Matt laughed, "Bye-bye mister lightning!" Heruseus grabbed the sword and chucked it into the lake.

"Osra! Special delivery!" Heruseus shouted, hoping he'd hear him. The sword exploded, throwing water into the air.

"Got it!" Osra replied as all the water vanished.

"I'm here!" Executioner shouted.

"Evan down here!" Lizardon shouted, still covered in metal.

"Lemme help you out there," Executioner mumbled as he dug him out of the ground. He walked him to the cabin and set him down. Lizardon was covered in blood and bruises. "Kate, Annabel, heal him, I'm going to help finish things," Executioner said as he ran outside.

"Oh, that sword wasn't my only defense," Matt mumbled. He equipped the same lance Lucy had and thrusted it towards Heruseus.

"You're still weak," Heruseus said as he blocked it.

"Am I?" Matt said as he bunted him with the end of the lance. Heruseus stumbled back. "Pathetic," Matt uttered as he slammed him into the wall.

"If you're so strong then stop picking on the weak!" Executioner shouted as stood in front of Heruseus.

"Why? With all this strength comes great destruction!" Matt shouted as he swung at Executioner.

"Rest. I'll stall him for as long as I can," Executioner told him. He got up and kicked Matt in his private area. "Come get me you buff idiot!" He shouted as he ran off.

"Great another runner," Matt mumbled, "I'm sick of you guys." He stood in place and held his lance out. "Minarcio!" He shouted as he gained armor and speed. Power emitted from his armor and blasted Heruseus into the cabin.

"Theo!" James shouted. "Quickly! Someone heal him!" He told them. Kate rushed over from Lizardon and began healing him. He also layed, covered in blood.

"Kneel to my power!" Matt shouted. Executioner stopped and was blown away by his power.

"Damn how can someone use this much power?!" Executioner mumbled as he stopped himself. "You're going to die now!" Executioner laughed as he switched to his axe.

"Stop before you hurt yourself," Matt muttered as he grabbed his head.

"Hell's armor!" Thomas shouted as he pierced through his armor. "Go help Justin. He'll need someone to defend him once he taps in with Ryan," Thomas told him.

"Be careful, he's strong," Executioner told him as he ran off.

"You pierced my armor," Matt said as he layed on the floor. "How?"

"The light is always stronger," Thomas replied as he grabbed him. He stared him in the eyes and said, "You've done enough harm." He threw him into the air and impaled him as he came down. He faded away once and for all as Thomas muttered, "Too easy."


	16. Chapter 16: Hacking The System

**Author's Note: I am uploading early just as an apology. So here are the week's chapters a day in advance! :) Thanks for reading and enjoy.**

* * *

 **Chapter 16: Hacking the System**

"Chumbus huh?" Justine asked.

"In this being," Chumbus muttered.

"You're pretty hot for my lady form. Well what do you expect? It's me," Kyle muttered, "Shame you have to die."

"Gross," P.G. gagged. "Of course you guys say that stuff," P.G. said as she snuck her vines underground.

"Let's hurry up and finish this," Chumbus sighed, "I'm going to miss my nap."

"You won't get a nap," Justine smirked, "you'll sleep eternally though."

"No, I don't want to," Chumbus muttered. "That's pretty lame," Chumbus sighed and transformed into his demon form. Justine followed, and Chumbus looked like the same demon but silver.

"That was mine," Justine growled.

"Hey, but it looks like you didn't need it," Chumbus grinned as he playfully made a fist with his long nails.

Kyle looked at her nervously and said, "Justine, remember yourself."

"Silent puny mortal," Justine grabbed him by the throat. Kyle looked at the other two with pleading eyes.

"Whoa! Calm down there lady!" P.G. grabbed her with her vines.

"Nice! I'll free him, so hold her as long as you can!" Chumbus said as he zoomed towards her.

"She's getting stronger by the minute! I can feel her power! It's insane!" P.G. shouted.

"Hold her still! I'm prying out Kyle!"

"She's… so… strong!" P.G. grunted past gritted teeth.

"A little more! He's out! Buy us some time!"

P.G. grunted as she pulled on her vines. Chumbus appeared next to her along with Kyle, who was still coughing and regaining color. P.G. inhaled as she let go.

"Prepare yourself!" Justine growled as she blasted like a bullet towards P.G.

"Nope!" Chumbus zoomed towards her. As they collided, Kyle and P.G. fell back due to the silent boom of air molecules around them. "Kylie, get to safety and help Kyle regain health, I'll hold her off!" He looked back at her.

"Nothing escapes my sight!" Justine threw Chumbus to the side and shot over to P.G.

"Nothing throws me like I'm not a threat!" Chumbus tackled her as she stood in front of her.

P.G. and Kylie watched the gold and silver streaks go back and forth across the field. P.G. led him into the supply pantry and healed him quickly with a green arrow. P.G. muttered, _Why am I helping the enemy? It's true, he's only a program, but still. Whatever, I'll get his trust and kill him later. That is, if he'll trust me first._

"How are you feeling?" P.G. asked him after taking out the arrow.

"I'm feeling better," Kyle coughed, "why are you helping me?"

"We're hearts filled with light. We're willing to forgive those in the dark if they will see the light," P.G. told him. She got up and readied to go back outside.

"Where are you going?" Kyle asked.

"We help each other," P.G. stopped, "Chumbus won't hold out forever."

"Wait, does this mean we're still enemies?" Kyle asked.

P.G. looked at him seriously, "That depends on you. If you leave here to help, you're in the light. If you stay and plot my death, you're forever in the darkness." P.G. left the cabin and created a tripwire near a wall.

"You think you're sneaky with those vines of yours?" Justine said as she zoomed in front of her. She pushed her, triggering her own trap. "Your doing will be your death," Justine laughed as she kicked Chumbus against the cabin.

"No, it will be her savior!" Kyle shouted as he ran outside and burned the vines down. P.G. glanced at him and nodded. They smiled as they joined hands and connected vines into one. They joined power into one attack, Llama's Inferno.

"Traitor!" Justine screamed.

"Chumbus! Get Justine closer to us! We can paralyze her for a second!" P.G. said with pure red eyes.

"Oh yeah! Power of the llama!" Chumbus shouted as he knocked back Justine into Kyle.

"You're dead!" P.G. screamed as the two ensnared their life-ending trap.

"Demons don't die," Justine smirked as she reversed the attack onto them.

"Kylie move!" Kyle shouted as he shoved her out of the way. He was entangled and embroiled by his own vines, which were lit aflame. He screamed in agony as the thorns from the vines cemented in his skin, and delivered flames inside his body. Boiling liquid poured from his mouth, no longer blood. As he faded, a scorch mark stained the grass.

"There goes the traitor," Justine smirked with pure black eyes.

"How can you kill your own ally?!" Chumbus screamed as he tackled her to the ground. He began scratching her like a cat, and punched her face into the dirt.

"Kitty, no scratching," Justine kicked him off. Chumbus flew back, and fell unconscious.

"I'm here!" Executioner said as another note rang. He smiled, hoping that was Matt's end, but frowned praying it wasn't Thomas.

"Yes! More meat to devour!" Justine shrieked.

"What now?" Executioner paused.

"Evan move!" P.G. shouted as Justine sprinted towards him.

"Ohh, look a fast imp!" Executioner grinned with psychaotic eyes. He blasted off like a streak of light, as fast as Justine. "Let's play!" He shouted as he ran.

"Slow down you annoyance!" Justine growled.

"Oh, shall I play with the pestilence?" Executioner stopped.

"Finally!" Justine grabbed him.

"Nah, your nails are too long," Executioner pointed at her nails. He kneed her in the stomach and blasted off again.

"Why you little," Justine grunted as she ran after him.

"Well that's a way to keep her interested," Chumbus muttered.

"They need you back at the cabin," P.G. told him, "hurry, Evan can't run forever."

"Right," Chumbus said as he ran off. He stopped and hugged P.G., "Be careful out there, big bro 'Yel doesn't want you to die yet." He smiled and ran off. He wiped away a tear as he entered the cabin.

"Yo," Lizardon waved, fully healed. He appeared with bandages and a cast over his arm.

"Hey everything okay?" Chumbus asked. He looked over to Heruseus who slept while being healed. "Is he okay?" Chumbus ran over to him.

"I'm fine, just a little knocked up," Heruseus opened his eyes and smiled.

"Justini look at this, err, look at him," Rachel pointed at Ryan.

"An enemy?" Chumbus raised his left eyebrow.

"No, more of a friend, a past one," Rachel smiled.

"I'm Clayton, and that's Ryan," Clayton introduced himself, and pointed at the skinny Asian boy with short dark hair. "Ryan's a program like everyone else in the Hearts of Darkness, besides me," Clayton told him, "we were thinking that he may be able to get rid of everyone else."

"So a program willing to help? Damn, I just saw one fade," Chumbus bit his lip. "Ryan, is it? Try accessing the control grid by saying 'Open start command center'," Chumbus told him.

"Alright," Ryan took a deep breath. "Open start command center!" He shouted as a white window appeared in front of him. "What now?" He asked.

"You should see a list of names that are programs from your guild," Chumbus bit his finger.

"Right, but some are crossed out," Ryan informed him.

Chumbus nodded and asked, "Who's still alive?"

"Me, Justine, Josh, and Thea," Ryan stated in shock.

"Right," Chumbus nodded steadily. He thought silently and told him, "Time to take out the strongest, tap on Josh and see what happens."

"I can kill him from here?" Ryan asked as he saw the option appear.

Chumbus silently celebrated and nodded.

"No! You're going to have to fight for it!" Josh said as he busted down the door.

"Fight's over here buddy!" Osra snarled as he smacked him with his sword.

"Ryan select everyone besides you and begin the deleting process! We'll defend you as you'll be defenceless!" Chumbus shouted as he transformed back into his demon form.

"Starting deletion process!" Ryan shouted as he extended his limbs, eyes glowing a light blue.

"Everyone cover Ryan!" Heruseus shouted as he put on his armor.

"Two can play at this game!" Josh shouted as he removed the protection barrier from the maze. Fallen poured into the safe zone, and began to hack away.

"Mel go get P.G. and Executioner! Their still fighting Justine!" Chumbus shouted.

"I'm on my way!" Mel shouted as she ran to the front. She saw P.G. holding off Fallen with her vines while Justine didn't give up on chasing Executioner. She dashed to P.G. and boomed away the Fallen. "We need to get to the cabin, and hold out from there!" She told her. P.G. nodded and began running to the cabin.

"I'm tired," Executioner whined as he inhaled.

"Gotcha now!" Justine smiled as she grabbed him.

"No you don't!" Executioner kneed her again and ran into the cabin.

"Hey watch it!" Mel shouted as she boomed Justine into a wave of Fallen Captains. They recognised her as a player, and ripped her apart.

"Another one bites the dust, two more to go," Mel muttered as she entered the cabin.

"How are we losing?" Thea grunted as she slammed Hayden into a wall.

"Light always shines through!" Heruseus shouted as he slapped her, for he couldn't find his sword.

"You're not as bright are you?" She slapped him back, and then slammed him against the roof.

"Don't mess with the Gods of Storms," Heruseus stood up. "Osra! Lighting storm!" He shouted.

"Right! That should rid all the Fallen in here!" Osra shouted as he kicked Josh away from Ryan.

"Everyone take cover in the cabin!" Heruseus shouted as he summoned clouds and lighting into the safe zone.

"It shall rain," Osra shouted.

"It shall burn," Heruseus continued.

"They all shall suffer the wrath of our power as one!" They both shouted in sync. Hail and heavy rain fell from the sky, along with rapid lightning. Everyone outside besides Josh and Thea faded instantly.

"Four can play like that," Thea grunted as she held her dislocated arm. "Honey! Time to rain some fire!" She shouted.

"They will suffer," Josh started.

"They will burn," Thea continued.

"They will burn in the pits of Tartarus, and boil like the blood of our enemies!" They screamed, but it was too late. The two ran behind them, and disarmed their tomes before they could finish.

"Aww, I guess no firestorm today," Osra smirked. He grabbed Heruseus and mocked them as they held each other.

"Yeah, only the fresh dew of your fates!" Heruseus grinned.

"You will regret that!" Josh shouted as he slashed at Osra.

"Here we go again," Osra muttered under his breath as he blocked his strike.

"Ryan explain your position!" Chumbus shouted as he watched Osra carefully.

"Programs, Hayden, Evan, Jamie, and Jake deleted. Fifty percent done on Josephine," Ryan said, still in his "T" position.

"Time frame, how much longer?" Lizardon asked.

"Forty eight minutes," Ryan spoke.

"Alright, nobody leave Ryan alone," P.G. stated. She planted vine traps along the entrances of the building as she said, "No-one leave the Cabin unless Chumbus, Lizardon, Executioner, or I tell you to."

"Fallen coming in!" Executioner pointed at the entrance.

"I want Executioner and Lizardon to go outside along with all the melee fighters. I then want all the long ranged players to stay here and cover them. I also want Thomas and me to stay here and defend Ryan up close. Alright guys, don't die on me," Chumbus shouted.

"I got you!" Mel shouted as she healed Heruseus.

"Thanks!" Heruseus smiled as he smacked Thea across her face.

"Has anyone told you not to hit a lady?" Thea asked as she got up.

"But I don't see a lady, I see a monster," Heruseus grinned as he grabbed his sword. Thea ran behind him and smacked him.

"I'm tired of you," Thea said as she sprinted to Mel.

"No," Mel blasted her away with her Thunder Sword. "Theo's right, you do look like a monster," She muttered as Thea got up. "Josh how are you doing over there?" Mel asked.

"I'm doing fine! This loser's going down in a second!" Josh and Osra said in sync.

"Mel go help him, he always says that," Heruseus told her as he charged up his sword.

"I know," Mel simply replied as she sprinted over to help him. "Wait, which one is the real one?" She stopped as she saw the two go at eachother.

"Over here Mel!" Osra shouted.

"Don't listen to the fake!" Josh shouted, taking advantage of her confusion.

"Mel he's tricking you!" Osra shouted as he slashed at Josh's arm.

"He's the program!" Josh shouted as he blocked it.

"How can I believe any of you?!" Mel shouted as she kept pointing her sword at one of the two.

"I love you Melody," Josh said calmly, "it's me."

Osra glared at her, and out a heart over his left eye.

"Right, I love you too," Mel smiled as she boomed Osra into the cabin, draining most of his health.

"M-Mel," Osra groaned.

"Mel you idiot!" Heruseus shouted as he kicked Thea. "That was the real Osra!" Heruseus grunted as he blocked her attack.

"Am I an idiot?" Mel smirked as she impaled Josh. She boomed his body into the lake, where he faded slowly. She ran over to Osra, and kissed him on the cheek, "I'm sorry." She smiled as she healed him.

"None taken," Osra smiled as he coughed up blood.

Thea slammed Heruseus aside and screamed, "Josh!" She looked at Mel, who looked at her with caution, "What have you done to him?!"

"All I can say," Mel grinned, "he's not a threat any more."

Thea let out a excruciating screech, forcing the three of them to cover their quickly impaled Osra, and threw him against the wall. While he was down, she held Mel by her throat, and pushed away Heruseus.

"Y-You will… suffer the… s-same fate," Mel struggled to say, as she quickly stuck her sword into Thea, and activated its self-destruct ability. She dropped her instantly, and took out the sword.

"You think one tiny cut will kill me?"

"No. A huge blast will," Mel coughed as a white light emerged from the sword, combusting, and destroying nearly everything around it. Heruseus tried to get up and save her, but it was too late, and his body was knocked back into the wall where Osra watched in horror.

"Melody!" Osra screamed as he watched. As the blasted had ended, everyone ran outside to see Osra shaking Mel rapidly, "Wake up! Wake up!"

"What happened?" Chumbus asked.

"Wake up! Melody Alaina Waters! Wake up!" Osra shook her vigorously.

"Lizar," Heruseus started.

"I'm on it," Lizardon began healing her wounds, until she stopped him. She simply shook her head, blood everywhere. Osra stood speechless, wondering what to do with wet eyes. "A simple shake isn't going to stop me from saving you silly," Lizardon said softly with tears in his eyes. She smiled as she looked at everyone, but faded away before Lizardon could continue. Silence took over everyone like a plague.

"Ninety percent deleted," Ryan buzzed, breaking the silence. "sYStem ErroR, SySteM eRRoR, sySTem ERRor, SYSTEM ERROR," Ryan repeated.

"Something's wrong!" Chumbus shouted as the ground shook. A player emerged from the lake, he wore a red helmet stained with blood, and a long cloak.

He stared towards Osra, "I made it!" His long gray cloak swayed behind him as he leaped closer to them. He was covered with heavy green armor, but his helmet stood out the most.

"That's not Josh," Osra readied his sword, confused.

"Yeah, I'm not Josh," The player smirked, "I am Arso."


	17. Chapter 17: The Destroyer of Worlds

**Author's Note: I will be resorting back to one chapter a week until I fully receive my computer capabilities back. Sorry, but enjoy chapter 17 + 18. Plus I need to start writing again because I actually stopped writing at 20, and I need to pick up the pace. Enjoy, and thanks for reading!**

* * *

 **Chapter 17: The Destroyer of Worlds**

"Arso's lame," Lizardon muttered.

"What did you say you peasant?" Arso growled.

"Me? Nah," Lizardon pointed to Executioner. He whispered, "He has an axe." He nodded and left.

"Leave now, and we don't need to fight," Chumbus transformed back into human.

"Trust us, you don't want to fight us," Heruseus glared.

"Why should I trust the enemy?" Arso raised his eyebrow.

"We're not your enemy unless you make us," Osra got up and stared at him with slight anger.

"Oh, hello Osra! I think I have something of yours. Ooh, yes here," Arso sneered as he revealed a tiny cage. Mel stood inside, wondering what to do. "All mine," Arso made an evil grin as he put it into his pocket.

"Why you," Osra grunted as Chumbus and Heruseus held him back.

"Don't lose your cool bro," Chumbus stared into his eyes, which were filled with anger, and the desire of revenge.

"Let me go," Osra lowered their arms, "he's going to die." He walked forward, but Lizardon and Executioner began pushing him back.

"Theo, Justin, a little help please?" Executioner asked.

"Right," The two said as they both began pulling him back.

"Aww, does little hero need his hero friends to hold him back? Does he want his little friend back too?" Arso sneered once more. "Well, too bad, so sad. Come at me Osra," Arso laughed.

"Josh don't listen to him!" Heruseus shouted.

"You're not like this!" Executioner shouted, trying to break his trance.

"Hey, wanna know a secret?" Arso leaned in like a child. "I'm you. See my name? That's your name too," Arso nodded as if he were talking to an infant. "You've killed many people, like me. You were sane like me. You will lose it all," Arso smirked, "like me."

Osra glared as he began tugging harder, prying himself from their grip.

"Josh stop! You're not like him!" Lizardon pushed harder.

"You're not him! He's taunting you!" Executioner shouted more as he pushed.

"You can change all of what he said! Don't let anger take you over!" Heruseus pulled.

"Let go," Osra mumbled.

"We're not dumb bro," Chumbus transformed and pulled harder.

"Then I'll force you to," Osra grumbled as he threw Heruseus and Executioner to the side. He flipped Chumbus, then threw Lizardon into the cabin wall.

"There you go! Don't bottle up your feelings hon! Let them out!" Arso laughed menacingly. Osra held him by the throat. "What are you going to do huh? Kill me?" Arso laughed more.

Osra threw him to the floor, and blasted his strongest towards the middle of his chest.

"Too slow," Arso grinned as he zoomed out of the way and kicked him into a hole, "Is that it?"

"Ryan what happened?" P.G. asked as she ran inside.

"I don't know, it was nearly complete until he stopped me," Ryan groaned.

"Who?" P.G. asked.

"Arso the destroyer and conqueror of all. He's an enemy, no matter what he says. Don't trust him," Ryan rubbed his head as he spoke.

"That doesn't sound very great," P.G. mumbled.

"Hell no it isn't. Barrier is up by the way, you're welcome. This dude will wipe away all of us if he wants to. The worst part is," Ryan froze as he looked outside. "He's here! Starting deletion!" Ryan shouted as he resumed his original position.

"While you're in there, check database for Mel," P.G. said as she planted done traps.

"Melody Waters?" Ryan asked.

"Yes."

"She's alive, but her data is scattered."

"Can you do anything?"

"I can try to recover it, but it will take some time, days even."

"Do that then, but get rid of Arso first. He's the biggest threat."

"Alright then."

"Give time estimate."

"Give me an hour."

Osra got back up and sprinted towards him. Arso laughed and swung his arm at him. He dodged, but Arso grabbed him and flipped him like a sack of flour.

"Pathetic," Arso grunted as he looked at him on the ground.

"Says the one who attacks after a war?" Osra asked as he got up. He wiped away the virtual blood from his mouth and stared him with eyes filled with hate.

"Oh please, that wasn't a war. Trust me kid, you'll fight bigger ones," Arso laughed as he took out his sword. The battle-damaged sword struck him with shock.

"That sword! How?"

"This beauty?"

"That was left in S.A.O., how did you get it here?"

"No need to worry about that, just worry about the damage it will cause."

"Impossible…"

"Green Theorem!" Arso shouted as his sword charged with a green eerie glow.

"Justin are you okay?" Heruseus asked as he got up.

"I'm fine, but my arm's gone," Chumbus struggled to get up. Heruseus limped over to him and picked him up. "Thanks," Chumbus groaned as he moved his arm slightly.

"Evan's out cold," Heruseus looked at the cabin, "looks like Luke is too."

"Arrows," Chumbus muttered.

"Ok," Heruseus took out two green arrows and stabbed himself and Chumbus.

"Purple too, we can't make it over there without interfering," Chumbus groaned.

"Are you sure we don't want to?" Heruseus asked.

"This isn't our fight anymore," Chumbus told him.

"Teleport to Lizardon!" Heruseus shouted as he dug the purple arrow into the ground.

The two picked up Executioner and dropped him into the portal. They then dragged the two into the cabin. As soon as they entered, they collapsed immediately.

"Kate and Annabelle, they need medical attention right away!" P.G. shouted. As the two began healing them, P.G. asked, "Did Arso do this?"

"How do you know?" Chumbus asked.

"Ryan told me."

"Well it wasn't really Arso who did this," Heruseus grumbled, "more like Osra."

"The only good thing is that we know Mel is alive," Chumbus sighed.

"You guys know about the data bits?" P.G. asked, confused.

"What bits? I want mochi bits," Executioner woke up.

"No, not mochi bits, data bits. What do you mean?" Heruseus asked.

"Ryan found parts of her character and profile data, meaning she's been put on hold for some reason," P.G. explained.

"Weird, Arso said he had Mel," Lizardon said as he woke up.

"It's all a trick, he wanted him to lose his cool," Chumbus said.

"So he's another program," Executioner asked.

"No duh dude, how do you think Ryan's deleting him?" P.G. asked.

"Well his trick worked, but I don't know why he would want to anger him. He get's stronger when he's mad," Heruseus scratched his head.

"Yeah but he doesn't think," Chumbus blew as Annie wrapped his arm. "He's straight in attack mode. No strategy or one sight of thinking ahead in his mind right now. Thanks Annie," Chumbus nodded.

"Is there a possibility he'll win?" Lizardon asked.

"Not in the slightest glimmer of hope he will live through this, but all we can do is hope for him," P.G. sighed.

"Give it up already, this is boring," Arso sighed.

"No way," Osra charged once more, he covered his sword with water and swung recklessly.

"You're going to try that again?" Arso dodged it and smacked him with Green Theorem, "Sorry, buddy but it isn't going to work."

Osra glared with through his swollen face. He wiped away more blood from his lips, and charged again.

"Really?" Arso shrugged, "You're not even going to try a different tactic?" He dodged the swing again, but grabbed him this time. He threw him into the ground.

Osra got back up with broken virtual bones.

"Give it up already dude, you have broken stuff," Arso whined.

"Never," Osra muttered. As his sword ran out of durability, he charged and leaped into the air.

"Oh a new one!" Arso squealed.

Osra rained down water which then turned into ice. Each tiny piece of hail smacked against his skin, stinging like a bee. He then shot a beam of ice, which caught Arso off guard. The ice hit him in the chest.

"Ow that actually hurt," Arso frowned.

"I'm not done yet!" Osra shouted as he heated up the water. Boiling water came down like rainfall. The water made his skin sizzle.

"What do you mean by that?!" Heruseus asked with anger.

"Ryan, can you still talk while doing a task?" P.G. asked.

"Sure can do missy," Ryan replied.

"Alright," P.G. looked at the four of them. "Look, even I don't know this guy, but all I know is he doesn't get hurt, and he destroys everything," She looked back at Ryan. "Ryan can you tell the origin of Arso?"

"Which Arso? There is the Arso the Destroyer, and Arso the Emperor," Ryan spoke like a computer.

"Emperor?" Lizardon tilted his head.

"Yes, eventually, he conquered the land known as Cor."

"We want the Destroyer," P.G. interrupted.

"Are you sure?" Ryan asked with the little human he had in him. "There are somethings you might not want to know," Ryan told them.

"Yes. We'll be fine."

"The Great Arso the Destroyer was originally a human. He originated in California, USA. He had a group named 'The Hearts of Hope' one close to yours. He became trapped in a game like this, and his friends he referred to family died to self-detonation, dark magic beams, and assassins. As the years went by, he slaughtered his two best friends due to insanity, and became Arso the Destroyer. Arso escaped the game by himself, and decided to full-dive into a videogame to conquer all from game to game. His skill transferred from game to game, bringing each insane skill to every game. He can't die, but can be paralyzed, or even deleted from the game completely. Arso then became wanted for committing murder and assaulting officers, so he went hid underground, and built his own Time Machine. His formal user name was Osra," Ryan explained.

"T-That's future Osra?" Executioner asked in fear.

"Wait so this dude built a time machine?" Chumbus asked.

"Not really, he built a device where he could full dive into the past, including past games," Ryan told them.

Everyone looked at him shocked, for this is what Osra is to become.

"He won't make it, we have to help," Heruseus grabbed his sword.

"We cannot interfere," Ryan shouted, "if we do, he might go down the same path. This might change everything."

"He's going to die! Of course this is going to change everything! How can he follow that path if he's dead?!" Heruseus argued.

"Stop, like Ryan said we can't interfere. This whole thing might rip a hole in space and time, we can't mess with it," Chumbus tugged his arm, and glared at him.

"Not like you'll do any damage though," Lizardon told him, "This guy's invincible."

"Are you guys sure he's from the future? Ryan read the source that came from," P.G. told them.

"Err, Wikipedia," Ryan buzzed.

"Right, and more theories are posted on there than the real thing," Executioner added.

"Look, I'm going to help him, even if we create some hole or whatever, I can't have my best friend die," Heruseus ran out the door.

"He has a point," Chumbus said as he transformed, "I'm going too."

"Well we all can't sit around can we?" Lizardon and P.G. got up. "We're in," They said together.

"I'm going, the rest of you should stay and protect Ryan," Executioner said as he grabbed his axe, "just in case if things get a bit hairy."

"Don't worry, we got it," Thomas smiled.

"Pathetic little child," Arso stomped on his chest, "like you would do any damage though. What did I expect?"

"Not this!" Heruseus shouted as he shocked him with thunder. He stumbled back, and glared at Heruseus.

"Theo stop, I don't want to hurt you again," Arso mumbled.

"Again? Have you two clashed before?" Osra asked as he struck himself with a green arrow.

"No, that's you Osra," Chumbus broke in the conversation. Osra stood silent.

"Seriously, that's you in the future, err, something like that," Lizardon spoke.

"It's a possible future," P.G. added, "but you can change that."

"You're all wrong," Arso interrupted them, "Yes, I'm Osra." He took off his helmet to confirm it. Under the red helmet, was an aged Osra, maybe in his mid-twenties. He grew a stubble on his chin, and a scar on his left cheek. "I'm from World 1, a world where the Hearts of Light were destroyed by the Hearts of Darkness. The only people who survived was Heruseus, Chumbus and me. We made it out, but eventually began fighting on who's fault it was to let everyone die. Being the stubborn person I am, I murdered Heruseus with my own hands. As Chumbus called the police, I took off. I hid for a while, but eventually Chumbus tracked me down, planning to end my days. I shoved him off a roof of a ten story building, and went back to hiding. I managed to find the plans Chumbus had to go back in time to change everything, and used it to build a world jumping machine. I thought, why prevent everything, when I can just kill everything? So here I am," Arso muttered.

"So, we're living in a parallel universe?" Executioner asked.

"It seems so Evan Cazares," Arso looked up with tears, "one of many."

"No," Lizardon denied, "you can't be Osra! This isn't him!"

"Technically I'm not, but am at the same time," Arso looked back on his past and cried. "I've become a monster," He sniffled.

"This plot just got a lot more complicated," P.G. sighed.

"This doesn't change anything though," Arso glared, "After I take this place out, I go straight to World 3 and then 4. I am the destroyer of worlds!" His madness took control. He threw knives towards Osra, while he took out his water tome.

"Osra!" Lizardon shouted as he shielded him with his body. The knives dug into his skin, each one transferring poison through his veins.

"Lizardon!" Osra shouted.

"That didn't really hurt," Lizardon chuckled. As he fell over, Osra caught him. "I'll be fine, take me to Kate," He told him. Osra nodded and zoomed off with him.

"You're not seeing anyone but death!" Arso roared as he zoomed after them. He was disrupted by an arrow exploding at his feet.

"Heruseus now!" Executioner shouted as he triggered the explosion. Heruseus sprinted up to him, paralyzing him as he dashed by.

"Executioner!" Heruseus shouted as he stunned him. He grabbed and hurled him towards Arso. Executioner spun, shooting right through him.

"You're up Gleam!" Executioner shouted as he landed. P.G. ensnaring him in her poisonous vines. She grunted as she struggled to transfer the poison through the thorns in her vines.

"Evan finish him!" She shouted through gritted teeth.

"Enough!" Arso shouted. He grabbed P.G.'s vines with full force, and waved it like a whip, throwing her against the cabin. He disappeared, and reappeared behind Executioner, kicking him into Heruseus. As the two lied unconscious, Executioner got back up and shot another arrow with explosives. Arso simply caught it and threw it back, "Can't fool me twice." As Executioner boomed to the roof, Arso cracked his neck and began walking towards the cabin.

"Everyone upstairs! I'll defend Ryan!" Osra shouted as he watched him throw everyone like ragdolls.

"I got you bro," Thomas said as he transformed.

"No, stay up there with them," Osra told him, "they need protection too."

"What will happen to you?"

"Don't worry about that! Now go."

Ryan whimpered in fear.

"What's wrong?" Osra paused and realized something, "wait. How did you know about Arso?"

"Ryan! How's it going?" Arso laughed as he walked into the room.

"Arso," Ryan glared.

"I see you've made it this far huh? Too bad everyone in the guild else died. Remember that one guy? Clayton was it? Remember the pain and suffering he went through to save you? Yeah, it sucks to not have your boyfriend huh?" Arso mocked him. Osra's eyes widened as he realized Ryan wasn't from here.

"Activate autopilot," Ryan muttered as he broke his position.

"Ryan? You're from First World?" Clayton peeked from above the stairs.

"Yes, I escaped by finishing Chumbus's work," Ryan glared towards Arso, "I lied. I finished it, and this douche has been chasing me for months. I know you're not the Clayton I knew, but I still love you. Now go, I don't want to see another one hurt."

"Aww poor gay boys in distress? Don't worry, I'll kill both of you!" Arso shouted.

"Your terror has gone far enough! Bring it on!" Ryan shouted.


	18. Chapter 18: Journey to the Motherboard

**Chapter 18: Journey to the Motherboard**

The two programs ran towards each other, ready to end it all.

"Osra! Mel's 2nd chance skill is waiting outside! I finished her collection data process! Go revive her and help everyone else! I'll be fine!" Ryan looked back at him and smiled. He then glared back at Arso. He zapped him with a blue ray, stopping him in his place.

"Be careful Ryan!" Osra shouted as he left.

"I see her!" Osra shouted excitedly as he ran to the floating times two. He poked it twice, and smiled brightly as he watched her come back to the world.

Mel gagged and coughed, "took you long enough." She looked up to see his toothy grin plastered across his face, "what are you smiling at?"

"I thought you were gone," Osra hugged her, tears streaming down his face, "I miss you."

Mel blushed and embraced it. As he let go, she asked, "What happened?"

"All I have to say is that someone stronger than anyone we have ever faced has arrived. We need to get the rest of the gang to safety," Osra told her.

"Alright, but you owe me some explanation of some sort later," Mel spoke as she ran with him towards Heruseus.

"You're not killing anyone anymore! You have to stop this instance!" Ryan shouted as he threw Arso through the wall, breaking through this time.

"You're not my dad!" Arso whined sarcastically. He punched him off through the roof. As he stood up, he revealed actual battle damage. Blood gushed out from the hole in his body.

"Who's that?" Mel asked in surprise.

"Long story, just keep moving!" Osra grunted as he lifted Heruseus off the ground.

"Is that you?!" Mel asked, shocked.

"Like I said," Osra grunted, "long story, keep moving." Mel picked up Charles and began walking to the cabin.

"Am I too late or what?" Chumbus asked as he emerged from the cabin.

"Hurry and get the others! No-one's safe with the chaos out here!" Osra shouted as he lied Heruseus down onto the couch. Mel lowered Charles against the wall.

"Alright."

"Mel, go upstairs and tell everyone to get these guys up there, it's not safe anywhere, but it's better if we're all together," Osra told her.

"Right."

Chumbus dashed outside and grabbed P.G. and Executioner, the last two people on the ground. He ran back to the building and dashed upstairs. He took a breath and asked, "is that everyone?"

"It should be," Osra groaned.

"No! Ryan's still down there fighting his life away! Someone needs to help him!" Clayton exclaimed.

"Calm down, once the process is over, Arso will be gone for a while," Chumbus told him.

"He's losing the fight! Look how much his health is dropping!" Clayton pointed at the bar above Ryan, which fell from one hundred to fifty.

"We can't do anything though," Osra mumbled. "This isn't our fight," Osra wrapped his arm.

"We can slow him down!" Clayton shouted. He grabbed his sword and walked to the door. He looked back with desperation, but also determination, "I might not damage him, and I will die, but if slowing him down is the only way to help Ryan, it's a risk I'm going to take."

"Hey he can't go out there alone," Rachel muttered.

"We have too many injured," Osra inquired, "most of our hard-hitters are recovering, and the rest need to stay and help."

"I can go," Thomas spoke out, "you guys won't need me here if we have the main guys here. Plus I can finally use all this power I've been holding back on."

"Someone will have to get you once you faint. We can't risk one of our strongest players," Mel told them.

"Plus that power won't save you. No, I'm not talking about Arso," Chumbus grabbed his demon stone. He looked at everyone as he transformed, and then to Thomas, "If you're stronger than what you've shown me, which you can't handle because you lose consciousness every time, a larger amount will shred you to dust."

"Hey what this family has shown me over the three months is that one: we never give up. Two: No-one is left behind. Lastly three: Hope never fades away," Thomas looked down, tears stinging his eyes, "I might have lost all my best friends, but they're all secure in a better place, and I'm happy yet sad at the same time. They're all here supporting us, so don't worry, I'm strong enough to generate stronger strength than what I have."

"Hey, I barely know you, but I'm going with you. You've been great to Osra, so let me help out," Chumbus smiled.

"I'm in too!" Keith shouted, breaking silence.

"If Keith goes, I go. You'll need a healer out there," Kate shouted.

"Kate, we can't afford it," Mel told her, "everyone's in critical condition, and we need all the healers we can get."

"Kate, stay here," Keith held her by her shoulders, "Mel's right, and you need to stay. I'll be fine, don't worry. I'll get back to you. I promise." Keith let her go and ran out the door. Thomas and Chumbus quickly joined him. Kate stared blankly at the wall with tears running down her cheek.

"All we can do is pray," Mel mumbled.

Chumbus dashed outside with Thomas beside him. He stared in awe at the damage shown on Arso. Ryan looked at them with shock and asked, "What are you guys doing?! Get inside before you get hurt!"

"You're losing by thirty percent! We're here to help!" Chumbus shouted over the booming.

"Are you guys sure? I sense your power," Ryan threw Arso into the lake and focused on the small group's power, "Hold him off while I regenerate. I can't kill him, but the deletion will rid him for a while. I on the other hand can't return." Ryan sat down and began glowing green.

"Really?" Arso stood up, holding his arm. His clothes and armor was torn and soaked with blood. "I'm not done with you yet!" He screamed as he charged.

"You have new guests now," Chumbus smiled, "so greet them politely." He laughed at the puzzled look left on his face. "Let's go!" Chumbus shouted, charging head on towards the overpowered enemy.

"I'm right behind you!" Thomas shouted as he kept up with the speed of a demon.

"Keith, it's best you help guard Ryan. Stay," Clayton told him.

"Ehh, I guess you're right," Keith frowned, "but I'll just let you know I can beat this sucker any day." Keith raised his fist out of arrogance.

"Alright, then Ryan will need your superior strength to help him!" Clayton played with him.

"Well, I guess he's worthy for my protection," Keith thought, "Kate's still my main priority though. Getting back to her and giving her my devotion is everything right now."

"Well staying out of danger for the most part is your best shot right now, thanks for your help," Clayton smiled and rubbed his head.

"Don't rub me. Everyone needs my help anyway," Keith grinned. Clayton chuckled and shook his head. He focused on Arso, who seemed to be glitching out. He began fading.

"He's almost done," Ryan stuttered. "Two people need to land the last blow inside the motherboard," He spit out blood.

"Chumbus! We need to knock him out! Ryan will explain the rest!" Clayton shouted.

"I'm not going down without a fight!" Arso shouted as he threw Chumbus through a wall of the cabin. He roared a mighty roar and grabbed Chumbus's unconscious body by his neck. Chumbus hung motionless as his health drained down. "I'm sorry Justin," Arso muttered as he thrashed him into the ground. Arso shook his head and grinned, the beast inside him had taken over.

Chumbus's eyes flipped open, and kicked Arso into the pier. "Demons don't die," he laughed as he he got up.

"Time to shine!" Thomas shouted as he picked Arso up and smacked him across the lake. Before he could land, Thomas instantly teleported behind him, and tore off his right arm. "No more whipping for you," he smirked as he threw his arm aside. He then kicked him into the air, blood pouring from the skies. He equipped his counterparts Heavenly armor, and attacked him with light. As the light shot through his body like needles, Arso swung with his left arm. Thomas switched back, and grabbed his left arm. He ripped it straight off his body and threw it down. Thomas then began his new three-hundred-sixty hit combo, Clash of Heaven and Hell, and locked Arso straight into his hit circle.

"This is impossible," Chumbus stared in awe, "he won't make it. He can't! It's not possible!"

"This is for everyone who fought with us! Eat my cat!" Thomas shouted as he slammed Arso into the ground with forces so great, it knocked everyone back. Thomas smiled as he watched from above, but fainted as he began to fall from miles above. Chunks of armor broke off his body, leaving him in his underwear. If the power he released didn't kill him, the fall certainly would.

"Whoa I got you bro," Chumbus teleported a few feet below him and caught his badly bruised body. He healed him before coming back down, and stopped the internal bleeding with a green arrow. He teleported into the remains of the cabin and set him down. He then teleported back outside where everyone stared at the pile of mush lying on the floor.

"I think Thomas overdid it," Keith stared at the bloody mush pile.

"He's not dead yet," Ryan started, "we need to take him out of the program. Two people need to come with me into the motherboard, and put him away for good. Just so you know it's most likely you will die there. I'm sorry, but if I go alone I will die immediately and Arso will return."

"I can't, Arso busted my leg," Chumbus rubbed his leg and began wrapping it.

"I'll go," Keith looked up at him. At that moment Kate ran outside, Lizardon running behind her.

"You can't!" Kate cried.

"Kate you know I have to! I'm so tired of giving up! I'm so tired of giving in! I'll make things right here, and I won't give up this time! It's for the sake of us," Keith looked at her with concerned eyes.

"I know I can't stop you, I see that look in your eyes. I love you Keith, and I always will," Kate ran back inside without a goodbye. She shook her head as she ran, fighting the urge to look back.

"I'm going too," Lizardon inhaled. He shook his head and grabbed his lucky headband, "we'll need the best we can get, and everyone else is getting healed. I'm your best bet right now." He then equipped his sword that he'd been saving up 'till this point.

"Wish us luck," Ryan opened a blue portal into the coding of the game, "we'll need it."

The three began falling once they entered the portal, which they than landed face first into thick metal. Lizardon got up and rubbed his head. He got up and looked around at the huge metal plating they were standing on, "What's so dangerous here?"

"Great, he isn't here yet, we better move," Ryan ran towards a giant pole.

"Wait! Who's not here? What do you mean?!" Lizardon shouted as he ran besides Ryan.

"Just move with him! Don't ask, he's our only chance of survival!" Keith shouted as he ran with the two.

"We must reach that data tower quickly," Ryan told them, "Arso isn't here yet. He's stronger here, but he's not our only threat. We also have to deal with the cleaning service, and Akino Baku himself."

"Let me guess, the cleaning service is all the virus and bug deleting stuff?" Lizardon raised his brow, scrunching his green headband.

"Wait, something's wrong," Ryan stopped as the ground rumbled.

"Yes, something definitely is," Lizardon opened a chat menu that he started.

 **Lizardon: Hey is everything okay back there?**

 **Purple Gleam: Did u guys do something? Evrything is shaking here**

 **Chumbus: We're fine**

 **What's going on?**

 **Lizardon: Somethings wrong**

 **Osra: What's happening**

 **Executioner: Hey is Arso supposed to get up?**

"Ryan, Arso's getting back up! Tell me what's happening to my friends?!" Lizardon looked at him with caution.

"That's not good," Ryan acted. Lizardon opened up the chat frantically.

 **Lizardon: Someone give a status report!**

 **Mel: Osra and Heruseus went to go confront him**

 **Is something wrong?**

 **Lizardon: Take him down now**

 **If you don't everything's wrong.**

 **Mel: Wait he has them in a green cage**

 **Mel: He's coming towards us, I need to go**

 **Lizardon: Wait! ! !**

 **Someone please answer! !**

 _ ***Osra left the chat***_

 _ ***Heruseus left the chat***_

 _ ***Mel left the chat***_

 **Lizardon: What's happening over there?!**

 **Purple Gleam: Arso has them in a cage! Get back here we need he**

 _ ***Purple Gleam left the chat***_

 _ ***Executioner left the chat***_

"Ryan! We need to get back there! They need help!" Lizardon snapped at him.

"What's happening?! Where's Kate?!" Keith glared.

"We can't! We're already here, we can't go back," Ryan lied. He smirked and laughed menacingly, "Oh you poor, pathetic children." He pointed his palm towards Keith, and shot him with a black beam of lightning. Keith fell back, paralyzed by shock and the attack. Lizardon ran towards him, swinging like a trained swordsman. Ryan countered it and knocked him back. Lizardon wiped away some blood, and rose back up, watching carefully.

"You son of a," Keith stopped as Ryan ripped his throat out.

"Language little boy," Ryan stared as Keith choked on virtual blood. His body remained on the shining green floor, and didn't show any signs of fading.

"How could you?! You can't be Ryan," Lizardon started. As he stared at Keith's body, covered in blood, he finished, "I knew him before all this started! He isn't so cold blooded like that." He pointed his sword at him with a glare plastered upon his face, "Who are you."

"I am Ryan see!" Ryan smiled kiddie like. He dropped the act and laughed more, "Of course I'm not Ryan you idiot."

"Then reveal yourself," Lizardon tightened his headband while keeping his sword up with telepathy. "Might as well reveal what Arso's doing," Lizardon grunted.

"Oh they're fine," Arso emerged from a blue portal, pulling a giant green cage with everyone inside. "They're all just a little "shocked"," Arso laughed.

"Luke!" Executioner shouted as he lied on the floor.

"Wait is that? No..." Kate frowned with teary eyes. She collapsed onto Rachel, burrowing her face into her chest. Rachel stared in shock at her friend's bloody body.

"Ryan!" Clayton smiled.

"That's not Ryan, Clayton," Lizardon glared at the being that resembled his friend.

"What do you mean?! If he's not, who did I kiss?" Clayton's eyes widened.

"I don't know, but he's working with Arso," Lizardon backed up, looking at his odds of winning.

"Get in the cage, and you won't get hurt," Ryan growled.

Arso stood besides him and smiled, "Fight back, but you will get hurt, but you'll still be in the cage."

"So I'll be in the cage either way," Lizardon shrugged, "I pick door three. No-one is in the cage!" He leaped onto Arso's chest, and slapped him. He quickly jumped off him, pushing him onto the floor, and grazed the tip of his sword against Ryan. A black hair emerged from Ryan's brown hair.

"So you aren't Ryan after all," Executioner glared.

"Welp, there's literally no use in hiding anymore," Ryan morphed into a man with messy black hair and deep red eyes. His skin was very pale, but his body was almost as big as Arso. His arms were covered with scars, and his right arm was replaced with a bionic one. He wore a dark grey t-shirt, that was covered by a black chestplate, and his legs were covered with dark painted armor. He cracked his back and smirked devilishly at Lizardon, wielding a pitch black sword, "I am Zeref. World 1 Heruseus."


	19. Chapter 19: Blue Purple and Green

**Author's Note: Stuff is getting real. I'm uploading this and 20 today as another apology. Plus we're nearing the end (23). Thanks for reading and enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 19: Blue Purple and Green**

"Alright Luke, just give it up," Zeref blazed with dark energy, "it's useless and stupid for you to resist anyway."

Lizardon held his guard up tight, refusing to give up.

"That's right Luke! Don't worry about us! We'll get out eventually, and when we do, we'll make them sorry," Hayden laughed.

Arso opened the cage, and picked him up, "I'm sorry, but make "who" sorry for "what"?" He thrashed him into the floor, depleting a majority of his health. Hayden coughed out blood, still paralyzed in one motion.

"Stop it now!" Lizardon shouted as Arso picked him up again.

Hayden managed to turn his head and smiled, blood seeping through his clustered lips. He stared back at Arso, and spat in his eye. He shouted as Arso unsheathed his sword, "Go! Go now! Come back later!"

Lizardon was filled with rage and anger as he watched the glowing green sword pierce Hayden's body as if it was clay. He grabbed his sword and shot a beam of anger towards Arso.

"Luke it's not worth it! If they catch you, you're done for! We're all done for! Go regroup if you can!" Chumbus shouted as Lizardon charged forward.

"Hey, I can move," P.G. whispered to Chumbus.

"Great, go pick the lock and get out," Chumbus kept his eye on Lizardon, "Zeref and Arso are focused on Lizardon. When you get out grab him, you're speed should be high enough to outrun them."

"The lock's open. What about you guys?" P.G. stopped before leaving.

"Don't worry about us just go! We'll be okay, I promise," Chumbus smiled, assuring her but not himself.

"You better be," P.G. locked the cage to confuse the two, "I'll be back. I promise. "

Lizardon back flipped to evade Zeref's attack, but was slammed to the far left by Arso. He growled, showing a side he always held in himself. He regained his footing and spat out blood, "You've done it now." His eyes began to glow white, and his knives floated beside him. He collapsed onto the floor, for it was too early and he was too weak to wield much power.

"Aww is poor lizard boy tired?" Zeref laughed.

"Pathetic," Arso kicked his body. Lizardon mustered all his strength to get up. He glared with fierce brown eyes that seemed to turn red.

"Let's finish him already," Zeref remarked. Zeref and Arso put their swords together, creating a huge sword that glowed with a blackish greenish aura. "Darkness Fang!" Zeref shouted.

"Green Theorem!" Arso shouted shortly after.

"Darkness Theorem!" The two said in sync as the two swords combined into one. Lizardon closed his eyes, embracing the worst. As he opened them he was being taken away in P.G.'s arms.

"I got you," P.G. smiled. Lizardon looked around confused, and a little scared. He looked behind her and saw Arso and Zeref sprinting behind her, but with each step, P.G. widened the gap, "We're getting out of here first. Chumbus reopened a portal and gave me a purple arrow to return. We'll come back, don't worry."

Too tired to speak, Lizardon fell asleep in her arms. P.G. glanced down and smiled she thought of Yellow Flash, a fellow member of The Hearts of Light. She laughed at the resemblance of Lizardon to her dead boyfriend. She thought of how far they've come, how coincidental it was to meet his cousin. She looked back up and ran head first into the portal.

"Watch where you're going!" The blue haired boy from before shouted as P.G. ran into him.

"Blue boy?! What are you doing here?" P.G. asked confused.

"I'm looking for my older twin sister, you know," the boy looked down, "orange haired? Tall, skinny and a little pale? Her name's Psytra, and she's been gone for a week now, and she hasn't come back. I'm worried, and scared."

Lizardon stirred a bit as he was lied onto the cold floor. P.G. put her hand on his shoulder, "Hey everything will be alright. How old are you?"

"Fourteen."

"How old is your sister?"

"Fourteen."

"Don't worry, we'll find her, but I'm afraid we have a bigger problem on our hands."

"What makes you think I'm going with you?"

"Because we're all you've got."

"O-Okay, I'm Psytrin, but my real name is Claus," Claus joined their group.

"You know it's not safe to give out your real name," P.G. told him.

"So? I love my name! I hope I can be a great asset to your group," Claus smiled.

"We better get going, there will be Fallen spawning here any moment now," P.G. checked her map, "the cabin is that way!" She picked up Lizardon and began running.

"Wait who are you?!" Claus shouted as he began running after her.

"Whoa," Claus looked at all the debris, "how can this much damage be done to a generated structure?" P.G. set Lizardon against a piece of drywall and ran to the supply room.

"Finally some hope," P.G. smiled as she removed the rubble. She looted everything from the small room, and stuffed it all into her inventory.

She ran back to Lizardon and jabbed a green arrow into his chest. As Lizardon's body was restored to its normal state, he woke up and looked around.

"Ahh! Blue boy!" Lizardon smacked him and backed up.

"The name's Psytrin," Claus rubbed his cheek, " but you can call me Claus." Claus smiled as he offered his hand to him.

"Oh, uh," Lizardon took his hand, "thanks. I'm Luke, but you can call me Lizardon. Sorry about that." Lizardon smiled as he tightened his headband.

"I like your headband," Claus said as he helped him up.

"Thanks," Lizardon laughed, "I like my headband too. Why is your hair teal-ish?"

"I'm just awesome," Claus giggled, "at least I wasn't saved and carried by a girl."

"Hey at least my hair isn't stupid!" Lizardon glared.

"At least I don't have an oversized green headband!" Claus argued.

"Enough boys, we need to get moving," P.G. broke the two up and moved forward.

"This is it?" Lizardon asked, "a blue haired boy with a sword is our group to stop Arso and Zeref?"

"It seems so," P.G. carried on.

"What about Psytra?" Claus asked.

"Psy-who?" Lizardon raised his left eyebrow.

"We'll find her," P.G. lied, "but this is bigger. A whole guild is at stake."

Claus stopped hesitantly, "Okay, but after this we find my sister.'

"Claus, your sister is dead! It's nearly impossible to survive here alone, and for a week? I'm sorry, but to tell you the truth, she's dead. I sped past her fading body and," P.G. was interrupted.

"And you didn't do anything?! Are you serious?! You let my sister die?!" Claus roared with anger.

"Calm down we didn't know it was her, we didn't even know who you were! How should we know?! Our friends are dying too, and your sister was helpless! Look, are you going to let more people die? Or are you going to make your sister proud by becoming a solution?" P.G. shook his shoulders, while Lizardon scouted the area.

"Fallen are heading this way!" Lizardon turned to Claus, who had tears running from his pale teal eyes down his pale cheeks, "we have to go, so are you going with us or not?"

As Fallen units cornered the three, Lizardon and P.G. readied their weapons.

"Either way we're fighting! Get ready!" Lizardon shouted as he shoved a unit away from him. Claus lied on the floor, wondering what to do.

P.G. equipped her vine sword, a blade made of her vines. She dashed across a line of enemies, leaving a purple light behind her. As the demonic soldiers shattered like crystals, more spawned around her.

Lizardon spun knives around his body like a tornado, and ran into a group of enemies. After his mush of Fallen had gone away, he released his knives from his telepathical grasp, impaling enemies around him.

Fallen units rose quickly behind him, forcing him to back into P.G. The three found themselves surrounded by a rising sea of fallen players.

Lizardon kicked back one of the blue beasts, and turned to Claus, "Look, Claus, we're running out of time, and we need to leave!" Claus stared blankly into the distance.

"The gap's closing! We need to leave! Now!" P.G. pointed at the closing gap, and planted vines into the ground. The vines acted as arms, as they held the Fallen enemies from surrounding them completely.

"Claus, we need to leave!" Lizardon slapped him, but he remained the same.

"Luke, we need to go," P.G. grunted, "make a choice. We live and leave, or we all die in this spot to a common enemy."

Lizardon looked at him hesitantly, staring at nothing. He shook his head and hit himself. He glanced at P.G., "Kyls, how much longer can you last?"

"Hurry up!" P.G. shouted, strain in her voice.

"You can go," Lizardon struck more Fallen with his knives, "but I'm not leaving him."

"Are you crazy?!" P.G. grunted. She looked back at him with worry, "screw it. If you're staying to fight, I'm staying with you." She let her arms fall to the ground, and the vines shriveled to the ground. The gap quickly filled in, and the blue sea charged.

"Brace yourselves!" Lizardon guarded Claus, who got up and put his hands onto the floor. Fallen enemies attacked from every angle possible, knocking the two onto the floor. Claus grabbed their backs, and forced them down.

"Psi bubble!" Claus shouted as a blue bubble covered the three, booming enemies away. He then used Lizardon's knives and combined them into P.G.'s vines, and wrapped it around the bubble.

"Whoa," Lizardon stood up. He looked at the blue bubble that covered them, and then at the Fallen enemies fading away once they touched the vine knives.

"How did you use my vines? They were already shriveled," P.G. stared in awe. She watched the sea slowly turn into a puddle. The bubble popped, and the used materials fell to the ground. The weapons then melted into the ground.

"Are you okay?" Lizardon put his hand on his shoulder as he fell onto his knees, and began to breathe heavily.

"I'm fine," Claus gasped for air as he spoke. As he caught his breath, he stood back up, "I've never done that before. I didn't even know I could generate a shield."

"Don't worry about that! Are you okay?" Lizardon asked, a little worried for the kid.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm not hurt, but I'm drained," Claus opened his menu, and went to his skills. "New skill," Claus's eyes filled with tears, "bubble. This was my sister's. She sent it to me along with a note."

 **Claus,**

 **I've gone too far. I don't know if I'll make it back, but I saw some players heading your way. Be smart and go with them. Don't worry, if I somehow make it back, I'll find you somehow. Remember what mom had said to dad, "Never say goodbye when you want to try. Never give up when you can still take it. Never lose hope, when you can see a glimmer. Don't let people control you when you, follow any path you want to. As long as you have a happy life, it was worth it." Remember the times we used to hide in the bushes or our treehouse at night, pretending monsters were lurking everywhere, and then dad would come out and pretend to kill them all with a bubble machine? Use this skill to protect your friends. I've seen these people while I was scouting before, and you won't be friends, you'll become family. Don't cry, I can already feel your tears. Just remember dad, mom, and I will be watching over you. I love you so much, and you're so strong. Stay smart okay?**

 **Love, Luna.**

"Hey, are you okay?" P.G. asked as he closed the window, tears running, "What happened?"

"Luna and I were twins. Our mother was lost after she gave birth, but she always told my father something before she passed on. My father raised two kids on his own, and somehow managed to work at the sametime. He always gave us what we wanted, until one night, a thief broke into our house. He held a knife to my throat, threatening to kill us all if we didn't give him money. My dad gave him what he wanted, so he let me go. He then stabbed my dad in the gut numerous times, and chased after us as we ran into the bathroom. I remember that shocked expression on his face as we ran. We heard sirens and then shouting, and then all of a sudden a loud bang. An officer asked us to unlock the door, and as we did, that officer became the man to adopt us. Luna, or Psytra was pretty much what was left of my family. Now she's gone too," Claus wiped away his tears and gave Lizardon a hug, "thanks. Thanks for pretty much saving me."

"Saving you? You saved all of us bro," Lizardon smiled, "welcome to The Hearts of Light." Claus smiled as he accepted the guild invitation.

"We should sleep," Claus suggested, "it's late and I'm tired."

"We can set camp in the supply room. Nothing should be able to reach us if we barricade the storage room," Lizardon yawned.

"Alright, whatever's good with you guys," P.G. smiled and ruffled Lizardon's hair.

"Which one of you helped her escape?" Arso boomed towards the small, cramped cage, filled with our heroes.

"Are you stupid?" Chumbus spat, "of course, any of us would help any of us escape! We're not gonna sit here like ducks!"

"He has a point," Zeref grinned as he nudged Arso.

"Shut it Theo," Arso shoved him playfully. "Damn I remember being that young, so full of hope, full of dreams," he clenched his fist, "the war ruined everything."

"War?" Osra asked, "I thought you, err, I grew insane?"

"That was all a miss conception. Made up to throw off your expectations," Zeref transformed into Ryan and then back into himself, "I did give you all the info you know on him anyway."

"Wait," Clayton spoke up, "where's Ryan?" He stood up, sternly staring at Zeref.

"I transform into who I kill," Zeref grinned as he turned into Ryan, then into Hayden, then into a brown haired girl. On each form, his grin and eyes remained the same.

"Who was that?" Mel glared after he turned into his true self.

"Someone you don't need to know about," Arso glared into her eyes, sending a signal to back off that topic.

"Let's get back to the topic," Zeref sharpened his sword, "which one of you helped her get out?"

Silence sunk in the air for a couple minutes until Arso opened the cage and grabbed Mel, "Let's try this again." He held the weary old green sword to her neck.

"Don't you dare lay a finger on her!" Osra growled.

"Which one of you helped her out?" Arso repeated Zeref's words.

"I," Chumbus started.

"I did it," Osra and Clayton said in sync. The both of them looked at eachother with caution, and Osra nodded.

"We both did it," Clayton spoke.

"Two of you eh? Well, double the punishment," Arso smiled as he took the two out of the cage and threw Mel back in.

"Alright then. The rest of you will be locked up, while these two are going somewhere different," Zeref grinned an evil grin and laughed. He knocked the two out and carried the both of them

"Wait! Where are you taking them?!" Executioner shouted.

"None of your business," Zeref smirked, "well it is in you name."

"You're not going to get out of this alive you know," Heruseus grunted. "I'm going to," He was stopped.

"Kill me? Yeah, unlikely, considering I'm better than you even in this world," Arso remarked.

"Yep, I promise you that," Heruseus smiled, as he sat down.

A couple minutes passed as they arrived at their destination. Arso spoke up, "Zeref, take these guys into the dungeon, and I'll take care of these two."

"Aww, but I wanted to torture them!" Zeref whined.

"Too bad," Arso shrugged, "you've already killed two people."

"Fine," Zeref took everyone out of the cage and locked them with handcuffs. As they entered the large castle within the area, Arso carried the two unconscious boys down a long hallway. Zeref pulled along his prisoners down a flight of stairs. He forced everyone to take off their armor and to give him every weapon they had. He then locked everyone in individual cages.

"Look, you all are under surveillance at all times, and we'll have our guards pass by every now and then too. One mistake might end you up in the punishment room, that's where your friends are right now. Don't worry, it's fun here," Zeref laughed, "if you like silence!" He laughed as he walked away, "Now all of you to sleep! It's late, and I don't want to wake up to you annoying idiots."

"Theo," Mel whispered, "what are we going to do?"

"We can't really do anything now," Heruseus tapped the virtual cage's bars, "this is the strongest material in the game."

"Sleep or die!" Zeref shouted. The group waited a while longer, and spoke ever so silently.

"Well what are we going to do?" Mel asked.

"Don't worry, Lizardon and Gleam are still out there," Chumbus stared blankly, "they'll come for us. I know they will."

After three hours of sleep, the three packed up. Lizardon set the teleportation course to one of the guild member's coordinates, "we're coming for you guys. Don't worry, we're coming." The three sprinted head first into the portal.


	20. Chapter 20: A Sacrifice

**Chapter 20: A Sacrifice**

"Stop! Stop! What are you doing?!" Clayton exclaimed. Arso stood besides him, carving his skin with a knife. Clayton screamed out of pain as the knife dug deeper into his body.

"Don't scream," Arso muttered, "it makes this a little harder to do." He jammed a rag into his mouth, nullifying the shouts of agony

Osra stared to his right, only to see a bloody body which he then realized belonged to Clayton. Clayton stared back with scared, beady eyes. Osra shouted, "Arso what are you doing?! This isn't torture, this is execution! This isn't you, this isn't me!"

Before Osra could talk sense into him, Clayton's huge eyes went blank as his head toppled to the floor. Arso glanced at him a stern look, "I'm not you. But you will be me."

"You've lost your humanity," Osra grunted.

"There isn't any humanity in the future," Arso looked down, "I'm doing you a favor if I kill you

"Oh really? What about Mel? Where is she now if your back story was all a lie? Where's your family?" Osra tried to resurrect any good left in him.

"Dead. Everyone's dead. The world has ended. We couldn't stop it," tears dropped from Arso's eyes. He shook his head, and unlocked Osra.

"What are you doing?" Osra asked, puzzled.

"What does it look like? Hurry, the armory is down the hall, I don't have much time left. I can't control myself, so go! Hurry up and go! Find Luke and Kylie, and come back when you can. Hurry, I'm losing control!" Arso put his hands over his head, and shook violently.

"Um, th-thanks," Osra stuttered.

"Go!" Arso shouted. Osra nodded and sprinted down the hall. Zeref stood in the armory, patiently waiting for his arrival.

"I always knew that idiot can never hold up," Zeref shook his head as he dropped from the ceiling, arms crossed. Osra stopped and grabbed a nearby sword.

"Move," Osra glared, ready to strike at any moment.

"Don't even try it dude. I'll have to kill you if you can uplift Arso's spirit. The virus has never been weakened, and you won't be the one to do it. Your death is inevitable, so why don't you make this a little easier for me will ya?" Zeref laughed. As he swung, he stopped, and shot him with a dart. Osra fell to the floor, falling asleep quickly. "You're too import to keep alive. I'll have to kill you, but first let me deal with what's left of your family," Zeref remarked. Osra blacked out.

"I heard a scream," Heruseus sat up immediately, "that was the gay boy's voice. What's his name? Clayton? Yeah, something's not right here."

Executioner whispered besides him, "What the fudge is wrong with you? We're in a jail cell, and Clayton and Josh are being tortured right now. What in the heavens can be right, right now?"

"Hush down boy," Heruseus growled, "we don't want to wake up everyone. It's going to startle everyone, and cause more noise. Noise equals Zeref, and Zeref equals death."

"Well what do you suggest we do? We can't bust out of these, and we have no idea where Luke and Kylie are," Executioner paused. "Wait wait, that was another scream."

"That sounded like Osra," Heruseus paused as well as the screaming grew louder, "no. That voice is a deeper and a lot more developed. That's Arso."

"They're out?!" Executioner's eyes glimmered with hope.

"Possibly. But I'm sure that other son of a biscuit is still awake. We can't hope they'll make it to us, but it's all they need to do," Heruseus muttered within the cold darkness. Only the snoring and small drips of liquid hitting the floor could be heard inside the cold prison.

"We'll make it through this," Executioner tightened his fist, "I swear to my new-found family we'll make it out. I swear my life to you guys." Executioner's bright smile made its way to Heruseus's eyes.

Heruseus teared up. He smiled and hugged him with the rest of the strength he used to hold onto hope. He broke down on his shoulder as Executioner silently rubbed his back.

"Don't lose that hope Theo," Executioner smirked, "we're not done yet."

Osra opened his eyes slightly. Zeref slapped him and laughed with his hyper laugh, "You awake yet?" Osra groaned silently. He took notice of the braces around his arm, along with knives near his body.

Zeref carved into his right arm, laughing as Osra screamed. Osra's eyes flew open, bringing him back into full view. He stared at his bloody arm, and then at Zeref with eyes full of rage.

"Aww, lookie lookie at who's just been woken up from his nappy wappy," Zeref babbled like a baby.

"You'll… p… ay… for… doing… th… at…" Osra grumbled.

"Nah, I've decide that you need to be taken out of the game. So bye-bye World 2 Arso!" Zeref stabbed each knife into each limb of his body. As his health reached bit by bit closer to zero, his rage turning into fear. Suddenly, a blue portal opened up as Osra's eyes began to close.

"Osra!" Lizardon shouted. He caught Zeref off guard and shoved him aside. Zeref fell upon his very own wall of spikes, but it wasn't his end yet.

"Claus! Scout the perimeter! Report in ten!" P.G. ordered. Claus nodded and ran off.

"Alright you take off the braces, while I start healing him," Lizardon brought his old mending staff, and took out each knife all at once. He then began the healing process as P.G. snuck her vines into each brace. One by one each metal brace clicked as they set him free. Lizardon caught him as the process ended and his staff fell to pieces, "Kyls, go on ahead and find Psytrin. When your done go find everyone else!"

"Yeah," P.G. raced off into the halls.

Osra mumbled something, but Lizardon stopped him, "Don't talk. We'll make it to the others." Osra shook his head and pointed to Zeref.

"Hands off my prey!" Zeref shouted as he sprinted towards them.

"Oh no," Lizardon mumbled.

"Psytrin?! Psytrin?!" P.G. sprinted down the barren hallways. "Where are you, you blue-haired kid?!" She came to a stop as she saw him facing off with Arso.

Claus brandished his sword, "Don't worry, this one's mine."

"Stop! He's not as weak as he looks!" P.G. tried to stop him, but stopped only to realize her vines can travel faster.

"Oh my," Arso grinned much like Zeref, "looks like we have some rather unlucky guests."

"Calling me unlucky? Pfft, yeah dude, like that rusty old sword will do anything," Claus cajoled. "Bring it oldie," Claus smirked.

"You're going to die little boy blue," he ran behind Claus as quick as lightning. He knocked him down with his hilt, and prepared to strike.

P.G.'s vines broke half-way, so she decided to use herself as a slingshot. "Claus!" She screamed as she watched him fall down.

"Say hello to your family for me," Arso smirked as he struck, but it wasn't Claus who was hit. P.G. slammed against the wall with a giant green slash mark across her back. As she flopped onto the ground, Claus rubbed his head, and quickly stood back up.

"Say hello to your dead people guys, or whatever," Claus decapitated him before Arso could remember he was there. He then rushed to P.G.

"I'm okay," P.G. stood up. Her armor fell to pieces, leaving her in her normal clothes. "There goes all of my equipment though," She rubbed her arm.

"Yo, I nabbed another vine tome just incase Whipina broke. I can't say anything about your armor though," Psytrin handed her another tome to use.

"Wait," P.G. stared at Arso's beheaded body, "okay, we need to get going. He'll be back in a bit."

"How? I just killed him," Claus tilted his head.

"No," P.G. stripped off Arso's chest plate and made it her own, "you only stunned him. He's not a player or a program, he's brought everything to a whole different level. Let's go find everyone before he get's up."

"Okay then," Claus stood, addled. "That doesn't make sense, but okay," Clause muttered.

"Get out of the way Lizardon," Zeref growled, "you're making things harder than they are."

"Isn't that the point? That's me after all," Lizardon smiled. He set Osra near the side, and jabbed a green arrow into his arm to assuage the pain.

"Aww, that's cute," Zeref giggled.

"Don't you ever stay with a mood?" Lizardon stalled for the arrow to finish healing. He also stood confused thinking about Zeref's capricious emotions.

"Why stay with one emotion when you can do whatever you want whenever you want?" Zeref laughed.

"Because if you're unstable with your emotion," Lizardon drew his sword, "what is true emotion? Remember when you told me that Theo?"

"Ugh, don't speak of that weak insect, you call a human," Zeref muttered. "Enough! Take me on lizard boy!"

"My pleasure," Lizardon's eyes grew white. Instead of knives, swords floated around him. "Oh don't worry, this will only hurt ten times more as you think it will be," Lizardon pointed at Zeref as the benign swords whizzed past him.

"Damn, I'm all sore," Osra squinted his eyes. He stood up quickly and grabbed a near-by tome,

"Luke! I'm on my way!"

"I shouldn't talk so much," Zeref growled.

"Yep," Lizardon muttered as he dodged Zeref's Darkness Fang.

"Luke, keep him focused on you, I'll be," Osra was smacked to the left.

"Nope," Zeref split into two, his second half striking Osra.

"Are you kidding me?!" Lizardon stampered. He back-flipped off a nearby bench and continued hammering Zeref One with his swords.

"Alright then," Osra muttered. A surprised expression jumped on his face as he found how easy it was to attack the Second Zeref. "Luke! Looks like his skill has been cut in half! He should be able to kill now! He's Theo after all, he doesn't make great choices!" Osra blasted his water through Zeref Two's body.

"You're right," Lizardon cut Zeref One into tiny bits. "That made it really easy," Lizardon shrugged.

"Right, let's go find the others."

Lizardon sprinted alongside Osra until he collided with Claus. "Great job blue boy!" Lizardon rubbed his head.

"Yeah, it's somehow my fault," Claus growled.

"Calm it you two," P.G. arrived.

"Who's the kid with blue hair?" Osra asked.

"The new recruit. Claus Camperry."

"Why him?"

"He has one of the Legendary defensive skills. He'll come in handy later."

"Nice, one more thing. Do they not like each other?"

"Not one bit."

"Why did we take you with us again? Oh yeah, it was because you were too weak to defend yourself after your sister got lost and died," Lizardon grunted.

"No, it's because YOU couldn't protect yourself," Claus kicked his shin and ran off.

"Why you little brat! Suck some cheese!" Lizardon chucked a rock at him.

"Enough!" P.G. stomped her foot down.

"Cheese?" Osra tilted his head.

"I got it from Kameron," Lizardon shrugged his shoulders.

"Look," P.G. looked at the both of them, "it's do or die here. We better get going before Arso or Zeref come back!"

"Oh Zeref won't be coming back anytime soon," Osra cracked his neck.

"I hear someone," Lizardon shushed them.

"Hey! Someone! We're over here!" Executioner shouted.

"Let's go," Claus looked at Lizardon.

"Right," Lizardon nodded as the both of them took off at the same time.

"Damn, I feel so naked without my armor," Mel yawned.

"Hurry up and get us out," Heruseus whined.

"We're trying!" Osra slammed his steel sword into the bars.

"Let me try," Lizardon's eyes glew grey this time. "Exe, I'll need your help this time. Push when I say go," Lizardon grabbed onto the bars. Go!"

Executioner pushed as hard as he could, and after a good minute the bars came flying off.

"Noice," Chumbus smiled.

"Everyone follow me! The armory is that way!" P.G. ran back the way they came from. Everyone quickly followed and re-equipped their armor.

"Oh it's so nice to see you," Chumbus kissed his Demon stone.

"Right?" Heruseus kissed his tome.

"You guys are so weird," Mel laughed.

"Let's get out of here!" Osra high-fived Heruseus and exited the armory to find Arso and Zeref waiting for them.

"You're out?! Damn," Arso bit his lip.

"This means all of you will die now," Zeref shot daggers out of his eyes.

"You don't decide our fate. We make our future!" Heruseus shouted as he drew his sword. He tackled the two as the group began running.

"Crap, uhh, left or right?" Osra stopped.

"Let's go left," Lizardon suggested.

"I have a feeling we should go right," Osra stated.

"Let's split then," P.G. sighed. "Exe, James, Anne, Thomas, Mel, and I should go with Osra, and go right. Lizardon, take Claus, Johnny, Jane, Chumbus, Rachel, Kate and Heruseus will be right behind you, I'll send him the message right now."

"Okay, but this isn't a great idea," Chumbus whined.

"Let's go," Osra ran right.

"Alright then" Lizardon ran left.

"I'm on my way!" Heruseus shouted as he caught up to Lizardon.

"Great job idiot, we're on the roof," Mel shook her head.

"Damn it!" Osra shouted. The door slammed behind them.

"It's locked, we can't get back in," Executioner shook the door handle frantically.

"Yep, and this looks like the end," Zeref emerged behind the corner.

"Not yet," Mel readied her sword of Thunder, Thundress. "We are the Hearts of Light, and we don't go down without fighting back," Mel sprinted towards him, everyone following her.

"This will be fun," Zeref smiled.

"Looks like we're outside again," Heruseus smiled.

"Yeah, but your escape won't be so easy," Arso sliced Kate in half.

"Kate!" Rachel shouted. Chumbus whizzed passed her and grabbed his throat.

"Why must everything be so difficult?" Chumbus held him over a giant edge.

"No! Stop! Don't drop me there!" Arso shouted. He began squirming, which made it harder for Chumbus to hold him. Chumbus levitated over the edge and held him farther from the ledge.

"Why don't you want to fall here? Won't you just respawn unlike everyone else?" Chumbus looked down at the endless jade pit.

"Stop Justin! That's the hole to core of the game, if you drop me here, I'll," Arso paused, "I'll become stronger."

"Do you think I'm stupid? If you really knew me, I must be really stupid in World 1 or you don't know me at all," Chumbus snarled.

"Justin, it's me, Josh. You're best friend since kindergarden," Arso looked at him with pleading eyes, "you know me."

"No I don't. Josh is probably on the roof right now, knowing that idiot," Chumbus growled.

"I said you were going to be my best man remember? Back in 7th grade? When I had that stupid crush on Maya Ferrish?" Arso pleaded more.

"Stop, the more you plead, the more I want to drop you," Chumbus scowled.

"Chumbus! He's right! That might actually be him!" Heruseus shouted.

"Are you stupid Theo? This is Arso, not Osra, he's a traitor to our guild. Maybe not in this world, but he was in another. Just because he was my best friend, doesn't mean this guy is. This is just some worthless lying piece of crap," Chumbus pierced Arso with his eyes.

"Bro, remember in 8th grade? ' I solemnly swear to never turn our backs on one another. ' Remember that?" Arso began crying.

"No, you're wrong about everything. You had that crush in 6th not 7th. Plus you forgot the last critical quote, ' We must do what we need to do to survive. ' I don't know why we added that part, but I guess we needed to.

"Damn it," Arso shook his head.

"Good-bye Arso, you won't be missed," Chumbus let go and watched as he fell into the abyss. He flew back over to the ledge where everyone except Heruseus kept their eyes on Kate.

"I totally said that to throw him off," Heruseus sighed.

"Nah," Chumbus replied as he walked over to Kate.

"It's too late, her health dropped too fast," Lizardon shook his head as he looked at Chumbus.

"Well at least Arso's gone now. We just need to find Zeref," Chumbus looked to the roof.

"We should stay, the others should be fine anyway," Lizardon sighed, "everyone's still tired."

"Fine," Chumbus lied down.

"Looks like we're waiting then," Heruseus sat down.

Zeref threw Mel down, and snapped Thomas's worthless sword in half. Osra swung from the right, and Executioner swung his axe from the other side. Zeref easily grabbed the two and slammed the both of them into the small wall. P.G. wrapped her new vines around his legs, but he grabbed them and slammed her into the door, breaking it.

"James, Anne, go back downstairs," Osra muttered under his breath. James nodded and took Annie's hand and rushed into the broken door.

"You're all going to die!" Zeref shouted, "I'm unstoppable!"

"Osra forgive me," Executioner got back up and tackled him off the edge.

"Evan!" Osra shouted.

"Not on my watch!" P.G. grabbed him with her vines and tugged him up. The force of his weight meant that she had to go down. "Hey Josh, thanks for watching over Westin while you could. I'll be on my way," P.G. smiled as she told him. Executioner popped up as she fell.

"You stupid girl! Why sacrifice yourself for him?! You'll kill us both!" Zeref shouted as the two of them hurled into the jade abyss.

"Because we're family, and that's the point," Purple Gleam fell with tears in her eyes. She looked back at the dates she had with Yellow Flash, and the memories she had created with his cousin, Osra. She smiled as the tears flew behind her.

Osra's group met up with the rest, depressed and lost.

"Where's Kylie?" Lizardon asked. Mel shook her head, and Lizardon looked down.

"What happened up there? I just saw Zeref, but who was the other person?" Chumbus asked.

"That was Gleam, she died to take out Zeref," Executioner frowned.

"There's an exit over there, but it takes us straight to the boss area," Heruseus mentioned. "If we go there, we better be ready," Heruseus sat down and looked into the abyss.

"We have to go now, and once we beat that stupid boss, we're ending this whole thing before anyone dies," Osra sighed.


	21. Chapter 21: A Final Enemy

**Chapter 21: A Final Enemy**

Executioner was the first to wake up the next morning. He quickly rose up, startled from his nightmare. He looked around himself and slowly exited the small tent. He sat near the edge of the abyss, staring down into the endless drop that would kill even those with invincibility. The haunting image of Purple Gleam flying right past him as he flew back up to safety, back up to life. She had already decided it wasn't his time yet, and he understand that. It was just the quick look of her face as she zoomed past him. He kicked a rock into the ever-glowing hole.

He sighed, "Damn it." He stared at the lighting of the Motherboard, it resembling an actual sun. He imagined the sun slowly rising as the area became brighter. He kicked another rock and watched it fall, "God damn it!" He punched the ground. The images in his mind flashed more, forcing tears out of his eyes.

Mel sat beside him, "You couldn't have done anything. Sorry, but that's the truth. It was all of her decision." She patted his back.

Executioner wanted to respond, but simply couldn't. His mind and body refused to talk.

"Evan you're really strong. You block out emotions with humor and fun, and then you'll hurt when no-one is around. The thing is, you can do that all you want, but this is a family. If one of us falls, we all fall together, either physically or mentally. You still manage to smile though, which makes things unbelievable. We're almost home. We've gone through so many deaths, it's become almost an instinct to quickly get over it. We lost two last night. We need to quickly anguish this pain and get back up, and finish everything."

Executioner looked at her and smiled, "thanks."

"No problem," Melody smiled and stood up, "wanna help make the group breakfast?"

Executioner stood up and stared into the pit for a quick sentence and turned back to Mel, "sure."

"Mwahhh," Chumbus groaned as he got up.

"Mornin to you too," Heruseus laughed. He snuck over to Osra's sleeping area and bent down.

"Ohhhhh, what are you doing?" Chumbus rubbed his eyes.

"Giving him a small surprise," Heruseus managed to find a small bug, and put it on top of his forehead.

"Ohhhhh," Chumbus looked around, "everyone else is up already?"

"Yeah," Heruseus looked back at him, "Mel and Exe are outside cooking, and I think they're ready." He turned around to face a growling bear who took the form of Osra.

"Ohhhh," Chumbus laughed as he ran outside.

"Good morning?" Heruseus questioned the fact if he was dead or alive.

"Idiot!" Osra shouted. He kicked Heruseus out the front, who landed on top of Chumbus with a plate full of food.

"Noo! My food! You're gonna pay!" Chumbus whined as he threw Heruseus onto Mel. She fell over which launched food into Executioner's face.

"What the heck man?!" Executioner shouted, misleaded. He threw an omelet at Lizardon, who responded with A piece of bacon. Executioner ducked, and the flying pig skin smacked Claus.

"What the hell Thomas?" Claus shouted as he dumped syrup all over him.

"It wasn't me! And really dude? Syrup because I'm Canadian?" Thomas shook his head in disappointment

"Enough!" Mel stomped her foot down, "all of you are cleaning up! I'm done!" Mel giggled as she entered the tent.

"What happened out there?" Osra asked, a faint smirk plastered upon his face.

"Chumbus threw Heruseus onto me for some reason, which lead to an omelet on Evan, then another omelet to Luke. It was a mess." Mel bursted out laughing.

"Why you laughing if you're so mad?" Osra laughed with her.

"Claus poured maple syrup on top of Thomas, and he just stood there like, "What did I do wrong?" Man it was funny."

Osra smiled and just stared at her laughing her butt off. He loved to hear her laughter, her happiness.

Mel stopped laughing, and smiled, "what are you staring at?"

"You," Osra leaned in and kissed her. Mel's eyes widened, shocked. As they released, Mel pulled him in again.

"Hey Mel, sorry about the," Heruseus walked in and quickly turned around.

"Did you tell Mel we're sorry?" Chumbus asked, wondering about the aghast look that exploded on Heruseus's face.

Heruseus began laughing, "Osra finally made his move."

Chumbus laughed beside him, "really?"

"Go look yourself."

Chumbus peered into the tent, and started his, "Ohhh."

"Oh! Um, we were just, uh, looking for our armor! Yeah, our armor! Here it is!" Osra stuttered.

"Sure," Chumbus giggled.

"Really! We have to get ready to finish it right?" Mel blushed as she spoke.

"And as you were looking for your armor, your lips fell onto each other?" Heruseus joined the conversation. The both of them sat silently, blushing red as roses.

"Yeah, whatever, let's actually get ready you two love birds," Chumbus laughed as he shoved his Demon stone into his pocket. The two nodded like obedient pups.

"Everyone ready?" Osra stood in front of the guild, the portal leading to the boss room behind him.

"Yep!" Everyone shouted in unison.

"Let's beat this game! Once and for all!" Heruseus raised his fist as he shouted.

The group charged into the portal. As they all stood gazing at the huge room. Two platforms with stairs leading to the both of them. The floor resembled that of glass. There was only one thing missing.

"Where's this guy at?" Executioner looked around the big, blue, glass room.

"Oh, button," Lizardon pressed it.

"Damn it Luke! What happened last time you did that?" Chumbus scolded him.

Another portal opened at the end of the room, along with some words above it.

 **Once this portal opens one player must stay behind to close it, or everyone who entered it will die. The boss shall be slain first as well.**

"Boss? What boss?" Lizardon turned around and saw the fallen units of his fallen friends. From Technis II and Pyrus all the way to Gary and Jordan, each one popped up one by one.

"Akino is one evil bastard," Heruseus shook his head at the sight of Pyrus and Charles.

"I don't think that's it either," Chumbus pointed to David, who seem to be transforming. He turned into a giant spider, and impaled every one of the fallen units. Killing them in front of everyone again.

"This is the end for all of you," Spider David boomed. "None of you cared, not even you Josh! You didn't even care to write my dialogue! You all will perish! You all will die!" Spider David smacked Executioner across the room, draining more than half his health.

"Lizardon!" Osra quickly shouted.

"On it!" Lizardon sprinted to his body and began healing him.

"Guys, I can't find a weak spot on this guy!" Chumbus shouted as he scaled the enemy.

"Try his eyes!" Heruseus shouted as he shot lightning into his eyes. His health dropped by a small amount, but he found the spot.

"On it!" Chumbus flew up to one of his eight eyes, and began clawing away until it popped. The boom forced him into a wall. He got up, quickly popping a healing pot. Spider David screamed, and started stomping the ground. Fallen enemies rose up from the glass floor,

"He can raise Fallen too?" Mel screamed as she sliced a Fallen unit's head off.

"Don't worry about the Fallen, just aim for the eyes!" Chumbus shouted as he popped another eye.

"Right!" Heruseus popped another with his lightning.

"Osra! You're left!" Executioner shouted as Lizardon finished healing him.

Osra leaped over the huge spider leg, and back onto his feet. He looked at Executioner and nodded. He blasted Spider David's eye with 4,000 PSI of water and it popped instantly.

"That's four!" Lizardon shouted.

"Make that five!" Executioner leaped off Lizardon's head and smashed an eye with his axe.

"Seven!" Lizardon's eyes turned red as his knives surrounded him, cutting up Fallen like a blender. He leaped into the air, and forced all the knives into two of his eyes. "Heavy armor!" He shouted so he wouldn't be boomed back like Executioner and Chumbus.

"This eye is mine!" Mel shouted as she boomed herself up, and boomed away the last eye. James and the rest hacked away at the Fallen.

"Do you really think I'm going down that easy?!" Spider David grew even bigger. His eyes grew back, but four remained gone.

"Yeah," Chumbus flew back up to pop another eye, but as he popped it, the boom was bigger, and nearly wiped away all of his health. He slammed against the wall unconscious. He coughed out blood as he landed. The Fallen quickly approached him.

"Leave him alone!" Lizardon entered the area, cutting away all the Fallen around him like a lawn mower. He quickly began patching him up, and jabbed his last green arrow into him to finish things up.

"Thanks," Chumbus rubbed his head and joined the fight once more.

"Guys! I'm going up there! Mel be ready to heal!" Lizardon leaped to the front of Spider David.

"Right!" Mel rushed to position, slashing the Fallen in her way. Lizardon popped another two, and equipped Heavy Armor. The blast of two eyes blasted him straight out of his armor and two inches into the wall. His health began draining quickly in increments of ten. Mel quickly stabbed two green arrows into his body, and patched up the hole the boom created.

"Damn that was one ballsy move," David stopped swinging his huge legs, and began spinning with his legs extended.

"Everyone hurry to the second platform!" Heruseus shouted as he grabbed Thomas before he could be mauled.

"I need some cover! Lizardon's health is dropping too fast! I need more time!" Mel called out.

"I'm on my way Mel!" Osra sprinted up the stairs and slashed the Fallen away.

"Johnny! Get out of there!" Executioner exclaimed. He rushed in, but was too late as Johnny was hit by David's spinning arms.

"I got you," Chumbus swooped in and took him behind Osra. He jabbed another Green Arrow into his body, and that seemed to do the trick.

"Thanks," Johnny coughed out some blood and gripped Chumbus's hand to get back on his feet.

"Guys! One more eye! I'm heading up there!" Heruseus exclaimed as he leaped off the second platform.

"Not yet! Mel's still healing Luke!" Osra shouted.

"I can make it!" Heruseus coated his blade in lightning and popped the fourth eye. The boom sent him into the leg blender, his body beginning to fade.

"Luke's done!" Mel shouted as Lizardon stood back up.

"Someone grab Theo! He's gonna die!" Executioner shouted.

" Ultra Heavy Armor!" Lizardon's body was covered in obsidian instead of metal, and leaped into the spinning attack. He quickly picked up Heruseus and chucked him to Mel before any more damage could be done.

"I got you Theo just stay with me," Mel worked quickly. She stitched up his cuts and then jabbed her last arrow into his neck. She then poured some healing potion into his mouth and began icing the bruises.

Lizardon quickly stepped onto the second platform and popped a healing pot. He watched as Spider David grew one more eye, the biggest of them all. It glew green, the black pupil bulging out like a bomb.

"Damn one more eye?" Executioner muttered.

"That one looks ready to kill," Heruseus shook his head.

"The stones! Everyone call out the spirits!" Osra shouted as he threw down the stone of Gerry and Ryel. Mel quickly threw hers and Technis II, spirits filling the area. Chumbus pointed towards the giant eye and his brothers nodded. The two spirits flew to the last eye and stabbed it with their lances. The explosions wiped the both of them out, along with David. As he exploded himself, a bunch of mini-spider came out.

"Are you kidding me?" Mel shouted. Giant red markings indicated where the twenty-four spider were.

"I got four!" Lizardon shouted as he smash some spiders.

"Gerry and Ryel just killed ten!" Osra called out.

"Fourteen more!" Heruseus paralyzed a row of enemies.

"I got one!" Mel boomed a row of enemies.

"They're running everywhere! I can't hit any!" Chumbus whined.

"Use your speed and predict where they'll be next!" Executioner shouted as he killed another.

"Right!" Chumbus sped up and killed two more.

"Ten left!" Osra shouted.

"Osra, focus on the Fallen Captains! They're slowing us down!" Lizardon told him.

"Right!" Osra zoomed around the Fallen and decapitated a Captain. He then blasted another Captain into another, eliminating two at once.

"That's good!" Executioner sped around more.

"Alright I got another one!" Lizardon shouted.

"I killed one!" Thomas exclaimed. He whipped shortly after in memory of Adam Whip-Holy.

"I got another!" Mel cheered.

"Same here!" Executioner laughed.

"I can't catch these stupid spiders!" Chumbus whined more.

"Bruh, calm down and concentrate on your speed," Executioner reminded him.

"I killed one!" Osra exclaimed.

"I got two more!" Heruseus roared.

"Three left!" James shouted.

"Finally! Smashed you little bastards!" Chumbus cheered as he killed the last three.

"That's all of them!" Executioner shouted.

"Everyone go through the portal!" Lizardon pointed to the portal that turned green, and sprinted inside.

"Gerry, Ryel, the both of you need to push that button once we all leave okay?" Osra told the two. The two nodded and the three hugged for the last time.

"Go! Now! More Fallen are rising!" Mel shouted. Chumbus and Heruseus followed her into the portal with Executioner right behind them.

"James! Let's go!" Johnny shouted as the four of them ran in.

"Josh are you coming or not?" Thomas shouted to one of the only best friends he had left.

"I'll be on my way!" Osra cut away the Fallen with his cousins, just like the old times.

"Go," Gerry mouthed.

"We'll see you around bro," Ryel mouthed and fist-bumped him.

"I love you guys," Osra smiled and sprinted towards the portal. As he entered, Ryel pushed the button, and everything disappeared.

"Good-bye for the last time, old friends," The spirits mouthed. They then too vanished.


	22. Chapter 22: Welcome Back to Reality

**Author's Note: Next Chapter will be the last. For the finale, I will be uploading chapter 23 within two weeks. I'm also politely asking that if you enjoy this story, to favorite and share this with others. I've put a lot of time (Nearly 2 years) and work into this for people to enjoy it. Thank you everyone who has been reading Twisting Web Online, it means so much to me. Peace.**

* * *

 **Chapter 22: Welcome Back to Reality**

Lizardon emerged from his video game coma. His brother Jacob slept besides him. Jacob sat in a chair, slumped over onto Lizardon's bed. He squinted his eyes as he took off the helmet. He tried to nudge Jacob out of the way.

"Hey Jacob, I bought some," A girl bursted in and dropped her food. "Luke's awake!" She squealed, her short brown hair spinning as she twirled.

"Ehh?" Jacob woke up and rubbed his eyes, "oh hey Luke." He then realized what was happening and began crying. He hugged his little brother, wailing, "welcome back Luke, I missed you. We all missed you."

"M-Miss you too," Lizardon managed to say. He squinted towards the girl, and his eyes widened, "M-Mari?"

The girl nodded her head and smiled as the tears poured out of her eyes. Lizardon tried to stand, but nearly fell until Jacob and Mari caught him, "where do you think you're going?"

"M-Must find the o-others," Lizardon put his hand against the wall and began walking.

Stunned Jacob asked, "who?" Lizardon didn't respond, he kept moving.

"Evan where do you think you're going?" Isaiah exclaimed, tears flooding his eyes as he watched his brother.

"W-We h-have to meet u-up," Executioner struggled to speak.

"Ulises let's give your brother a hand," Isaiah put his arm around him, and Ulises did the same.

"Theodore Widdicombe, sit back down right now before you kill yourself!" Theo's brother

Henry shouted.

Heruseus kept moving without response.

"I'm calling mother," Henry shook his head.

"Jasmine help me up why don't you?" Chumbus groaned.

"Uh, sure," Jasmine helped him on his feet.

"T-There," Chumbus pointed outside the door.

"You can't! You're too weak!" Jasmine cried.

"I-I'm never too weak," Chumbus kept moving.

"Josh?!" A boy exclaimed as Osra opened his eyes, "Guys! Josh is back!" He shouted on the phone.

"D-Douglas?" Osra muttered.

"Your cousins are on the way," Douglas smiled.

"W-Who?" Osra sat up.

"Kaeo, Neka, Luke, Alex, Lani, and Breanne," Douglas smiled brighter to see his cousin come through two death games.

"Josh!" a boy resembling Ryel burst through the door. Many other cousins all hugged him, dropping the flowers and balloons the bought.

"Yel?" Osra squinted his eyes.

"It's K, bro," Kaeo smiled, eyes filled with tears.

"Are you okay? What was happening? How did you survive?" Luke quickly asked.

"I can't answer, I-I must g-go," Osra stood up with Kaeo and Douglas's help. As they exited the room, three more of his cousins quickly came to his aid.

"Where are you going?" Douglas asked.

"I-Is that Charmaine and Camille? And J-Jinco?" Osra squinted at the three who started helping him.

"We're right here for you," Jinco smiled.

"I must find e-everyone else," Osra muttered.

Mel walked alone on her IV stand. She only had one thought on her mind to find everyone else. Everyone thought that. Either alone, or with the help of their family, The six met up in the lobby, Thomas and the others were no-where to be seen. Everyone sat down in a chair and discussed what was next.

"We m-must find B-Baku, and e-end it a-all," Mel stuttered.

"W-We need to re-recover first," Chumbus added, "w-what's the use of finding if we're skeletons?"

"Justin has a great point," Douglas pointed out. "You all just woke up, take at least two weeks, no, a month. Then go after this creep. Either way I'll be tagging along," Douglas gave a thumbs-up.

"Yeah, one month. And we're in too," Mari kissed Lizardon and smiled.

"I don't even know what we're doing, but Mari's right, I'm coming with you guys," Jacob nodded.

"O-Okay, that's enough people," Osra smiled, "we can't barge into that psycho's house without expecting some blood. I don't want anyone to die anymore, only those three who volunteered are coming with us six."

"Then take at least one month to recover," Kaeo told them.

"Fine," Lizardon nodded.

 **1 Month Later**

The nine Hearts gathered inside a coffee shop. Discussing what they will do to release the rest of the players.

"We all ready?" Osra asked the eight people in front of him.

"What's the plan again?" Lizardon asked.

Heruseus sipped his cocoa, "Lizardon, err, sorry. Luke and Mari talk junk about TWO, and knowing Baku, he's a genius. He has cameras set up around our old high school, so once he hears the two talking crap about TWO, hopefully he'll come over to grab the two. After that, Jacob and Douglas will drive two separate cars to tail Baku. Once we find out where he's been hiding, we bust in all awesome, and Chumbus hacks the system to release everyone while we take care of Baku."

"Okay then," Lizardon smiled.

"Alright, Justin, Josh, and Theo go with Jacob, and Evan and I will go with Douglas," Mel stated.

"Let's go," Douglas grabbed the keys to his car and took off to the high school, with Jacob behind him.

"Luke, Mari you're up," Chumbus nudged the two outside.

"Uhh, Twisting Web was so sloppy. It was like made by a two year old. Nothing was hard at all. Even the final boss was easy," Lizardon laughed.

"Yeah, and the enemies sucked," Mari tried.

"The final boss was supposed to be a shock? More like stop and quit your job," Lizardon looked back at the bush where everyone watched.

"Go!" Heruseus whispered harshly.

"Akino Baku is stupid who sucks on poop!" Lizardon shouted as loud as he could. Mari began laughing really hard until a smoke screen went off, and the two were gone.

"Where did they go?!" Executioner stood up.

"Don't you dare touch her there! Perv!" Lizardon screamed. "If you lay one finger on her I'm going to." The rest of the sentence was interrupted by a slam and the rev of an engine.

"There's are cue! Let's get going!" Jacob revved his engine and followed him.

As the three vehicles exited the freeway, Akino stuck his hand out of the window and shot towards Douglas.

"Oh crap!" Douglas swerved into a ditch, as his tire blew out. Akino stopped shooting and then turned into an alley.

"Call Doug, check up on him," Jacob handed Osra the phone.

"He said he's fine, where did Baku go?" Osra said as he handed him back the phone.

"He drove into the alley, so let's stop here," Jacob stopped the car and looked around the small alley.

"Try kicking stuff, that might work," Chumbus told them, "it might trigger a hidden passage."

After ten minutes of kicking things, Chumbus stopped along with everyone else. Tired, Chumbus leaned against the brick wall and triggered the passage to reveal itself.

"Oh yeah!" Heruseus sprinted down the flight of stairs the led deeper and deeper into the ground.

"Tell me who else escaped, and who was following us!" Akino demanded.

"Never," Lizardon spat in his face.

"You little brat." Akino carved into his skin with his knife. Lizardon screamed out of pain as he watched real blood fall onto the floor.

"Leave him alone!" Mari shouted.

"Look who wants to talk!" Akino brandished his knife towards Mari. "It's not your turn missy. Shut up before I kill your boyfriend."

"You're going to die Akino, then you're going to hell and suffer for what you've done to everyone," Mari spat back.

"Yap yap yap. Shut up girl, you know nothing of Heaven or Hell. If anything you will be getting no-where!" Akino jabbed the knife into Mari's stomach, "why don't you warm up hell for me then?"

"Mari!" Lizardon screamed. He shot daggers from his eyes, ready to kill.

"Aww, did I kill your girlfriend?" Akino laughed.

"That's it I've seen enough," Heruseus grabbed a knife and held it up to Akino's throat. "Go Chumbus! Osra, get Mari down and heal her wounds. Jacob go get your brother."

"Damn, for a genius, you have a small fire wall. I could've broken through this in elementary school," Chumbus sneered. "Done, everyone is set free. Twisting Web is over."

As soon as Jacob let Lizardon free, he shoved Heruseus out of the way and tackled Akino, "I'm going to kill you! You son of a biscuit!" He grabbed the knife Osra took out of Mari, and jabbed it into Akino's chest. "You're going to suffer here until you bleed out," Lizardon growled.

"Mari's still here, just sleeping. She need immediate hospital attention, and so do you Luke, let's go," Osra picked up Mari and began sprinting upstairs.

"It's not over yet," Akino spat blood from his mouth, "Computer, self-destruct!"

"Go go go!" Heruseus barked.

"Guys! I'm not going to make it!" Osra shouted as the last ten-seconds rang.

"Just go Josh keep going!" Chumbus shouted.

"Take Mari, and go," Osra threw her unconscious body towards Lizardon, who caught it like air.

"Keep going! We're near the top!" Jacob shouted.

"Someone needs to stay and close the doors," Osra muttered, or the explosion will get all of us."

"We made it!" Heruseus cheered.

"Not yet," Osra shut the passageway.

"Josh what are you doing?!" Lizardon screamed.

"Good luck guys," Osra sat down against the door. Before the explosion could reach him, a piece of concrete landed on top of his legs. He blacked out.

"It's not your time yet young one," a female voice muttered and lifted him up.

"Josh!" Heruseus pounded on the hidden door.

Osra woke up in the nurse's office at his school. He looked around startled, "whoa where am I?"

"Nice to see you awake," Mel smiled, "For a second we thought you'd fall into a coma due to some soccer ball."

"Soccer ball?" Osra questioned.

"Yeah, I kicked it and then it hit your head. Are you okay?" Max Havens asked him.

"Max?! You're alive?!" Osra hugged him.

"Of course, why would I be dead?" Max laughed.

"Wait, what happened to Baku? And how are you alive?" Osra looked around.

"Baku? Akino Baku? The guy who trapped thousands into his video game?" Mel asked.

"Yeah, he activated a self-destruct program and I thought I died," Osra told the two.

"Whoa, easy there buddy."

"We were in Twisting Web Online! How could you not know him?"

"Josh, calm down, never touched a VRMMO after Sword Art remember?"

"What up?" Chumbus walked into the room. "How's your thick skull?"

"Chumbus! Please tell me," Osra was interrupted.

"Never call me by that name again."

Osra turned on the television and pointed at the date, "wait what? TWO just released? But how am I here?! Why am I here? We were in there Justin trust me. We were in that game," Osra looked straight into his eyes.

"What kind of idiots would go near another VRMMO? We're not stupid, in fact it was you who convinced Evan it wasn't worth it."

"Mel, please," Osra stared at the blond girl beside him.

"We never even gone near the game store," Mel muttered.

"I'm serious! We made it out of there too! We kissed too!" Osra shouted with disbelief.

"Eww, I'm dating Brett remember? You're going crazy," Mel left.

"Sorry dude, but she may be right this time, maybe you've lost it," Chumbus nudged Max, "let's go."

"I'm not crazy!" Osra cried.

The nurse walked into the room, "Okay Josh you're going to go ahead and get going to your third period class."

Confused, Osra asked, "and whom might that be?"

"Mr. Gerren. Isn't your family close to his? Maybe you need a little more rest, but oh well, you need to go now. You've missed two periods already. I'll write you a late pass, but you better get going," The nurse scribbled on a small green sheet of paper.

"Um, where is this class again?" Osra tilted his head.

"I hope you aren't serious. Go now, or a week of detention for you. You've been here for two years, you should know where your classes are. Get going Mr. Tran," The nurse shouted.

After five minutes of roaming the halls, Osra walked into Mr. Gerren's Health class.

"Josh, you're late. Why?" Mr. Gerren asked, his bald head shone like glass.

"Soccer ball incident, I guess," Osra stared at Mel who seemed to be glaring at him.

"Hurry up and take your seat, we're talking about our head and our minds," Mr. Gerren resumed his class.

"Damn dude, how hard did Max hit you? You seemed even more lost than normal," Heruseus spoke besides him.

"Mr. Widdicombe! Eyes up here sir," Mr. Gerren snapped. "As I was saying, our minds are weird. If we get hit hard enough, we see illusions, or live completely alternate lives. We'll see and think things we cannot explain." The bell rang as he ended, "Class dismissed."

"Alright lunch!" Heruseus dashed to the quad.

Osra followed him, confused. He stared at Gary and Jordan, yet he still remembered seeing them die. _Maybe I've been dreaming. This can't be real, but maybe it is._ He thought to himself.

Everything turned gray and dark green. He looked at everyone's face, mouths wide open and soulless eyes. Their skin remained normal, so they weren't Fallen. He looked to what he was sitting on, the chair looked deteriorated, slowly peeling away. He looked back at his friends and they began deteriorating as well. Their skin came off, like everything had began to age ten-thousand times faster. He looked at his hands, and they were peeling away too. He fell over, closing his eyes as he felt life tugging away at him.

 **He blacked out...**


	23. Chapter 23: A New Beginning

**Author's Note: Sorry for late release guys. I had to write something extra for my Honors English class. So this is the ending. More is soon to come. All I'd like to do is thank all of you for reading this. You do not know how much it means to me. Thank you again, and enjoy the final chapter of Twisting Web Online.**

* * *

 **Chapter 23: A New Beginning**

"May these courageous people rest in peace," The funeral director put his head down. Thunder roared in the distance as the heavy rain made way into everyone's heart. Osra and P.G.'s casket was lowered with the other deceased members of The Hearts of Light. Osra's empty.

"Damn," Heruseus shook his head as he stared at the multiple memorials made for his fellow guildmates. They put Technis II next to the original Technis, and Purple Gleam next to Yellow Flash (Ryel). Osra was located next to Poptarts (Gerry). Chumbus stared at his brothers' graves, and turned around to pick up thirty-three flowers and placed one on each grave. Everyone followed, crying with their heads down in shame for being so reckless.

"Well it's all over," Mel sat down in Douglas's car. "What do we do now?" She looked up with her bloodshot eyes.

"Osra can't be dead. He just can't," Chumbus muttered.

"Justin you saw the casket go down, even when you weren't supposed to! He's gone now! We can't get him back either," Heruseus snapped, and then frowned.

"Well they didn't find a body did they?!" Chumbus fought back.

"Justin, they also stated no-one could have survived that much debris!" Mel shouted.

"He's Josh! The Great Osra! He might have survived!"

"Bro, this is reality! There isn't defense skill, there isn't health bars or potions! Josh was just human! Join reality dude. He's gone," Executioner joined the argument.

"Hey! Calm down! Let's settle this once we get to my place," Jacob muttered.

The rain roared as it hit the metal roof of Jacob's car. As they drove into the garage, Douglas parked besides him. All but Lizardon entered Jacob's massive house. Lizardon had gone to the hospital instead to watch over Mari.

Silence came over until Chumbus had spoke up, "he's not dead!"

"Justin! He's dead! If he didn't fall to the explosion, he was crushed by debris," Heruseus shouted, "just let it go okay?"

"What is wrong with all of you?!" Chumbus screamed, tears falling slowly out of his eyes, "Have you not learned what he has told us everytime we went into danger?" The tears fell faster, "Never lose hope! Hope never fades away! Remember?"

"Then according to your logic, your brothers are still alive," Mel grunted, "my sister's still alive. Everyone's still alive."

"You guys don't get it! Everyone's fried bodies are in the ground. If he was crushed, where are his remains?" Chumbus welled.

"Just go," Mel pointed to the door and shook her head.

"I'm going to look for him, he might need help. Unlike all of you stupid idiots," Chumbus slammed the door as hard as he could.

"He'll be back any minute now," Heruseus waited for him to come back, but he didn't. Chumbus was determined to find him, he wouldn't come back without him.

Osra squinted his eyes, forming the blue shapes with what he could see.

"Laser scalpel," a man with a deep voice uttered.

"Right here," a woman handed him a small red knife.

"Let him rest," the man said, "he'll be here for a while trust me." The five people left the room, and Osra stood up. He looked down at the stitches the man had put in. He traced the right of his stomach all the way to his left. He grunted as he stood up to get a better look at his surroundings.

At first, he thought he was in a hospital, but as he wandered around, he knew this was nothing like a hospital. He pushed the door open to see people in Nerve Gears. He stood there in shock, and quickly turned around.

"Where do you think you're going Osra?" the man asked him. He cupped a mask over his mouth, and he fell asleep.

"That was a close one," the woman stated.

"Too close," the man strapped him back in, "place more cameras in all rooms. Put more here too, this one is different."

The rain poured harder onto Chumbus's thick skull.

"This isn't the end for you," Chumbus muttered, "show me a sign!" He shivered as a cold breeze blew past him.

"Hey kid! Where are your parents? It's late! Shouldn't you be in bed?" a lady shouted from across the street.

"Hey! Have you seen a possibly bleeding tall kid around here?!" Chumbus shouted over the booming thunder.

"What? Have I seen a big lid? No! You'll get sick though, so go home!" the lady shouted as she shut her window.

"Did she just say go mid? This isn't League though," Chumbus continued running. He ran to the nearest beach and collapsed in front of the roaring sea.

"He's over here! I found him!" Executioner shouted and pointed to Chumbus.

"Hey Theo! Maybe you like to lend a hand?" Mel grunted as the she and Executioner tried lifting him up.

"Douglas go get the car!" Heruseus shouted as he helped the two help Chumbus up.

"He's cold," Mel felt his skin, "he might have pneumonia, we need to rush him to the hospital!"

"Put my jacket around him," Executioner quickly took off his rain coat and wrapped him in it.

"Let's go! Where's Doug?!" Mel struggled to keep Chumbus up.

"Right there!" Heruseus pointed at the headlights that shone through the rain.

"Let's go!" Douglas pulled up and opened the passenger door.

"About time!" Executioner yelped as he tucked Chumbus into the back seat.

"Is he okay?" Douglas looked back at the Chumbus. He stared at his pale body, almost like it was dead.

"Hurry to a hospital!" Mel shut the door as the car spun off the rain drops to the nearest hospital.

The paramedics rushed his cold body into the hospital, and the four of them rushed upstairs to Mari's room.

"Hey, how are you doing?" Executioner opened the door slowly, peering his head inside before he entered.

"She's finally talking now!" Lizardon smiled, "come in."

"Hey guys," Mari smiled at the four that walked in. She slapped Jacob's knee, waking him from his slumber.

"Ehh? Oh what up?" Jacob flashed to life.

"What time is it?" Heruseus yawned.

"2 AM. Where were you guys?" Lizardon crossed his arms. His dreary eyes shooting daggers towards him.

"Justin tried finding Josh. He passed out on the beach."

"Makes sense."

"So you've been waiting here the whole time?"

"Yeah. Mari didn't wake up 'till two hours ago, and talking an hour ago."

"Justin might have pneumonia now."

"Wait that doesn't make sense. He wouldn't do something so reckless."

"No, he did something like this in SAO. It resulted in the both of his brothers' death."

"Why did he do it then?"

"Josh, or "The Almighty Osra" was being reckless himself. He only does these things for us. He has a pair, I can tell you that. He also has high hope and a ton of determination. As lazy and small as he seems, he has one big heart. That's what makes Justin Chumbus."

"Well Mari has to rest for now. You all should too."

"Alright, same to you."

"Hey Justin got a room, let's go," Mel shook his shoulder.

"Okay," Heruseus waved back at Lizardon. Mari waved as well, but Jacob fell back asleep.

"Room fifty-eight on the fifth floor," Executioner rushed to the elevator and punched the 5th floor button.

The three waited patiently, staring blankly at the floor. It had been a long day, but it felt like a week had passed. They all paused as the door opened, until a doctor had entered the elevator and poked Executioner.

"Oh, uh, sorry," he responded weakly. He poked the others and exited the elevator. The both of them followed.

As they entered the room, they stared at their best friend covered in blankets, yet still shivering. the doctor had entered the room, stunned by the appearance of children at such an hour. "I am assuming you all are Mr. Tran's friends? He got lucky you three found him. Any longer he would've died. He doesn't have pneumonia, but his body temperature is way too low, so he needs to stay here for at least a day. I am also guessing you all don't have anyway to get home, and it's too late. Stay here for the night, we have the most comfortable chairs, so make the most of it," the doctor smiled and left the room.

Chumbus opened his eyes, and tried to take the blankets off, "w-we need to find him." He shivered as his blue lips moved.

"Stop," Mel put her hand over his blankets, "the police are searching for his body. We'll get confirmation soon."

"W-We need to find him n-now," his blue lips shivered more.

"We need to rest now," Heruseus shook his head and hugged him.

"F-Fine." Chumbus fell asleep almost immediately, with Heruseus sleeping on top of the mountain of blankets.

"Good-night guys," Mel smiled.

"Night Mel," Executioner closed his eyes.

Osra opened his eyes once more, he tried to lift his hand, but failed as his handcuffs stopped him. He felt wet. He looked around him, and panicked as he was lowered into a green liquid. He tried to scream, but couldn't.

"He's awake! Get him out of there! He'll die if he's conscious!" The man from before shouted.

"It's too late! The process has already begun!" The woman screamed as she turned knobs and pulled levers.

"What will happen?" The man looked at her, eyes filled with worry.

"He will drown unless I transport his data in increments of twenty-five percent, but there's a small chance everything will get through," the woman sighed, "It might also corrupt his data a little bit."

"Alright," the man sighed, "do it."

"It might cost one of his arms considering we're speeding up the process," the women pulled more levers and typed something into a computer.

As she pressed enter, Osra screamed as much as he could as four needles were injected into his head. He felt his body fading away. His right arm went numb, but the rest of his body was screaming to get out. Limb by limb, he stopped moving. All he could see was black. Nothing. Just nothing.

"What just happened?" The man's eyes widened.

"Well, that has never happened before, so I don't know. All I do know is that he's 75% through, in ten minutes take him out and replace his arm. Then put his body under maintenance. I don't know what's going to happen if this worked out."

"Well isn't this apart of destiny?" The man asked.

"Well if it wasn't and if Osra was killed now, Aleks would not be here still," The woman pointed to the glass window, which showcased a teenager in a dark room, glaring straight towards them.

"Well that would be true if those two were telling the truth. And if they are, were are the other children?" The man asked.

"One might be in the Hearts of Light already, the Psytrin kid who wasn't involved in the Twisting Web Online conflict until the end was kind of suspicious. He didn't seem so phased after we took out Luna either. Whatever, maybe they might be right," the woman shrugged.

"Right, he did come out of nowhere. Plus he looks a little young to be in such a game. So does his sister," the man shrugged as well.

"Well I guess time will tell if Osra makes it or not."

"Something's not right! I swear!" Chumbus woke up screaming.

"Calm down there boy! You need rest, go back to bed," Heruseus yawned.

"I have that feeling he's still alive! You need to trust me on this!" Chumbus stood up and put on his jacket.

"Justin get back to the bed!" Heruseus shouted.

"I call guild meeting."

Heruseus stood paralyzed. The last time that term was used, the Hearts were getting ready to face off Shinigami. He glared, "fine."

"How the hell did you get Justin out of the hospital?" Douglas asked as he drove the two of them back to Jacob's house.

"I have methods," Heruseus simply replied as the three of them walked into his house once more.

"Wait, Mari's healed?" Chumbus shivered.

"You slept for almost two weeks," Lizardon stated sternly. "You almost killed yourself," Lizardon shook his head. Claus walked into the room in his sleep attire, he yawned as he stretched.

"What the hell are all of you doing here?" he asked.

"Guild meeting. Why are you here? Where are you parents?" Mel raised an eyebrow.

"In a coma," Claus choked on his spit, "I mean in Africa. He's in Africa. Okay bye now."

"Okay," Executioner muttered as Claus left the room.

"Okay Justin why did you call a guild meeting?" Lizardon closed his _3DS_ and stared at him.

"Josh is alive. I know he is. Please listen to me," Chumbus pleaded. He opened his laptop and connected it to the TV.

"Is all this necessary?" Mel crossed her arms and raised her eyebrow again.

"Yes it is Melody. Yes it is," Chumbus waited for a document to load on the internet. He pointed to an article named, **Weird Man Pulls Unconscious Body From Debris**. He pointed to the picture. Everyone's eyes widened as they saw Osra's body being taken out of the debris by a man in a trenchcoat.

"No way," Executioner shook his head.

"It can't be possible!" Lizardon covered his mouth.

"It says here too, "The man had checked the body's pulse and nodded as he continued to drag him into a van." It's a fifty-fifty chance he's alive," Chumbus nodded vigorously.

"So he might be dead then," Heruseus crossed his arms.

"Or he might be alive," Chumbus noted.

"Guys! Even if he was alive, where would he be?! Don't you think he would come back by now?" Mel shouted. "We need to stop with the "what if's" and move on! I'm leaving," Mel shouted as she shut the door behind her.

"She has a point," Executioner stood up and left. Everyone followed soon after, and Chumbus walked home depressed.

Everyone had carried on with their lives. The rest of the Hearts continued attending school while Chumbus studied every detail he got about him. Half a year had passed, and there was still no sign of him. Without the glue Osra had produced, everyone grew apart. The Hearts were shattered into multiple pieces. It wasn't until a new release of an update on a current VRMMO had released.

That game was known as,

 **Mythocalmagical Online**


End file.
